Sometimes Heroines Need Heroes
by Serenity's Ghost
Summary: I'm just trying to do my part. But I'll admit, sometimes I need a little help. A young girl just trying to save other people from crime has a harder time than superheroes at trying to be a hero. Robin and Original Character. Season 1
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, fanfictioners. Know when you just want to do something short but then it turns out longer than you intended? This is a fine example of that. But, do enjoy. **

**Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. But you already knew that.**

I looked out onto the streets, watching, waiting for something to happen. And when it did, I'd get off this roof and go straight into it. Why? Well, really, I just couldn't tell you.

I didn't really have the motivations other people would have had to go into this business. And, yes, I call it a business because it occupies your time and you work at it with all you've got. My parents weren't killed by criminals. My siblings had not been hurt by some maniac. No one had tried to violate me. I had a good childhood, a good family, no relatives who'd picked up the trade. My family was still alive, I went to school like any normal fifteen year old.

What I had, according to my mother, was an unusually strong sense of wrong and right. 'A craving for justice', she called it. This is what made me put myself in the middle of fights at school, chase after guys who dared to steal from little old ladies and helped any kids that seemed to get separated from their parents. Sure, it got me a few black eyes, busted lips, bruised fists and sprained ankles, but I believed that any person who has been spared the pain because I took it for them was another person better off. Another person who wouldn't have a vendetta against someone else that could turn violent and nasty.

I noticed a gang of guys gesturing at two girls approaching the mouth of the alley where they were convened. It didn't take me a second more to know that they were trouble.

I started quietly down the fire escape. The idiots had no idea that they had just chosen the worse alley to stand in. They couldn't have any idea that they had chosen to stand right _in front_ of the person who was going to kick their butts. I tried to stifle my chuckle.

I was already wearing the closest thing to stealthy clothing I owned—thick, dark blue denim leggings, black lycra shirt, dark blue leather jacket and mid-calf length beige boots with rubber soles—it wouldn't serve my purpose to laugh and dismiss my element of surprise.

I was just a few steps away from the back of the gang when the two girls came into sight at the mouth of the alley.

"Hey, there. You girls look like you need someone to walk ya home. Whadya say?" the skinny one closest to them said, grabbing the brunette near to him by the wrist with just about the ugliest grin I'd ever seen on the ugliest face. She tried to pull away but he had her pretty tightly. The fat guy next to him went for the blonde. That's when I picked up the can at my feet and threw it at fat guy's head. Everyone's head snapped to me. Skinny guy looked at me at first with a worried expression then his face smoothed out.

"Oh, it's just a little girl. I thought it was some sort of Batgirl or something," he sneered. I smiled.

"Batgirl? And what's with that relaxed expression? Don't think I could your butts?" I retorted.

"Get lost, girlie and mind your business. If you run away right now, we won't hunt you down and hurt ya," another one said. Skinny smacked the back of him head.

"She could call the police or someone. We'll have to beat her up anyway," he contradicted. I shook my head.

The one who had stayed quiet for the whole thing couldn't have seen the foot coming towards his face when it did. Nor could the one who was offering me a little mercy anticipate the fist to his neck. Skinny and fat guy decided then to take me a little more seriously since their friends were already on the ground.

Skinny released the brunette's wrist and pulled a butterfly knife as he came at me. I felt the fear kick me like ice in my stomach for a brief second before I dismissed it forcefully and reminded myself I wasn't a defenceless rookie. And it wouldn't be the first time I'd feel what a knife felt like in my flesh.

I dodged his first rather careless lunge and forced myself to do a backhand spring to put some further distance between me and his shiny blade. It served that purpose but fat guy was closer now and his fist hit my stomach, forcing me to stumble back. I was hit. I could feel myself getting afraid again. In truth, I felt so invincible until I got hit. Then that reminded me of the possibility that I could lose and I got scared.

The other two had managed to get off the ground and were behind skinny and fat guy. Perhaps this time I had bitten off more than I could chew. The brunette and blonde weren't any help. They were just standing there looking all shocked and scared.

I glanced around really quickly, searching for something to use to fight them off with. Not a piece of wood, or rod or old broom in sight.

Then he swooped in between the gang of guys and me.

I was thanking God with every fibre of my being.

"C'mon, guys. Don't tell me your idea of fun is beating up on some chick," my hero said, mockery clearly in his voice. And what a nice voice it was. He was wearing a dark jacket and a dark green hoodie with dark jeans. I didn't know who the hell he was but I was happy that he was between me and those guys. It took me less that a second to instantaneously punish myself mentally for chickening out. I could have handled it. I had just let the fear get to me. And once I let the fear spread, it never stopped and never left.

I had had enough of just standing there. My own fear and their annoying faces were just ticking me off.

"Outta the way small fry—" Fat guy was too busy talking to see me use the boy in front of me to propel me forward and my foot into his face. He stumbled back and crashed into the guy behind him and became unbalanced and fell to the floor. I looked back at the boy. He was wearing shades over his eyes but I saw him lift a brow at me. Apparently, he had missed my action moves earlier and thought I was just a damsel in distress. Which, when it really boiled down, I was.

Skinny tried to play slasher with the knife in his hand and I dodged it a few times until it ended up just barely through my arm. I used the opportunity to kick him in the solar plexus hard enough to floor him. My hero took the last guy and gave fat guy and the quiet one a reason to stay on the ground. I pulled the knife out of my arm and dropped it and it lodged itself in the ground between skinny's legs, about half an inch away from his groin. He whimpered like a wimp and proceeded to scurry away without his buddies. In a few seconds, however, his friends were off the floor and following him. I cracked a smile but then felt the shoot of pain in my bloodied arm.

My hero turned around to me and gave a smile until he realised that the hand I had around my bicep was stained with blood.

"You're bleeding," he declared. I chucked.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Let me help you out there," he offered.

"Hope you have a med degree or Red Cross training because I can't go to a hospital. My poor mom doesn't need to know about this." His responding frown at my statement spoke volumes about his predisposed disapproval at my seemingly unpermitted vigilante work but he just nodded and reached behind his belt to pull out a wide bandage and a small canister of a spray that resembled breath spray. I figured it must have been antiseptic. Then I removed my jacket carefully.

He sprayed it on my wounds, the entry and exit points of the knife and it burnt enough to make me have to exert a certain effort not to curse. After a few more seconds of tingling and tugging, it started to numb the spot and he plastered on the bandage with care.

"There. Nice and safe." He gave me a smile.

"What's a thirteen year old like you doing running around this late?" I asked, more than vaguely aware of how hypocritical I sounded. He laughed.

"I'm fourteen. What's a fifteen year old like _you_ doing taking on four guys at one with no weapons?"

"Good eye. I'm just trying to help out."

"You know there are people who do that, right? Like the Justice League." I remained silent. "What happened there? You were fighting pretty good and then bam, you just froze. What's with that?"

"I got scared when I saw the knife," I blurted out before I even realised it. He studied me for a second and only then I realised what I had said. "Er...I mean..."

"It's okay to be scared. But you can't freeze in a situation like that," he said, consolingly. He offered me a smile. "I'm Robin. And you are?"

"Hyacinth."

"Like the flower?"

"Yeah. It's my mom's favourite flower."

"Cool. I take it she doesn't know you're out here?"

"I told her I was going out. She knows I go out every night. She just probably doesn't know what I go out for."

"Won't she worry?"

"I'm back by ten. I beg her not to ask about my injuries. I try to hide the really serious ones so she doesn't worry about them."

"It's almost eleven." His focus wondered to the bandage.

"Shit." His focus snapped back up to me. "Sorry. Bad habit. Uh, anyway, thanks for saving me back there. I'll try to be more careful."

"Maybe you should consider just letting the League handle things like these."

"No, I can't! There are so many people that the League can't get to, so many crimes they don't know about. They can handle all the big crime and major situations, I just want to stay here and help the people on the ground."

"Green Arrow used to think like that, too, now look where he is."

"Exactly. He's with the other big shot heroes fighting in the bigger picture."

"He's doing a good thing." I began to put my jacket back on.

"I didn't say otherwise. I'm just saying there needs to be someone to help out all the people they miss."

"I understand but not if you're going to get hurt like that doing so."

"How many times has Batman come home bleeding, bruised and battered, I wonder."

"That's different."

"Because he wears a mask and a cape? Or because he's older?"

"Because...Oh, you've got a point there." I checked my watch. Ten fifty.

"Um, thanks again. It's been cool but I've got to get home. I'll repay you the favour someday." I began to walk past him and he turned.

"I doubt that very much but okay. Should I walk you home?" I snickered.

"No."

I broke into a sprint and ran as fast as I could back home. I found mom asleep on the chair facing the door. I smiled and went to kiss her forehead and send her to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Who's hungry for more Hyacinth butt-kickingness?**

I was really happy I was not a left-hander. Otherwise, I would have been screwed all day long in school. My arm throbbed and shots of pain would go through my arm every so often. I was tempted to just ask the teachers to send me home due to illness. I hadn't even decided to do it when my conscience started chewing on me. Darn my sense of justice. I could deal with it. I just took three painkillers before my afternoon classes begun. It still only helped a little.

As I was walking home, the throb in my arm reminded me of how worried my mother had been. She woke up with a frantic look on her face and I apologised profusely and told her not to worry, that I just got sidetracked. Technically, I hadn't lied. Had I not gotten so scared by the skinny dude with the knife, I would have taken them all down in easy time and been home just as the clock struck ten. Maybe Robin had been right. Maybe I should just let the League handle it.

No, I couldn't! People needed help and sometimes the League was not there to give it to them. I had to try my best to help them. That was what I thought to be my purpose in life.

I just faintly heard the voice of someone screaming 'stop'. My head snapped up and to my left and I saw a man clad from head to toe in black and red running as fast as he could with a sack in his hand, not even looking back. It reeked of the nothing-good smell.

I dropped my book bag and ran off as fast as I could in the direction of the guy, across the road, through the grassy, open space and in his direction. I wished I had one of my books to throw at the guy's head to slow him down. Then I remembered my phone. After a millisecond of fighting with myself whether or not to throw my beloved cell phone, I grabbed it out of my jeans pocket and flung it as hard as I could.

Lucky for me, I was a good shot.

It hit him with a loud wham in the head and sent him flying to the ground. I smiled slightly and ran a little faster so that I could put my sneaker-clad foot behind his neck to try to keep him down. My arm started to throb, demanding my attention. Of course now that my heart rate was up and my blood was pumping it would act up. The guy on the ground grabbed my ankle, realising probably that I had become a little bit distracted, and he spun onto his back, unbalancing me. And lucky me, I fell onto my left arm, exacerbating the pain shooting through my arm, feeding it more anguish.

I resisted the urge to curl into a ball and instead quickly got to my feet before he was fully standing and kicked the feet from under him. He groaned a little and a second later, two masked, costumed people ran over to where I was. I stood next to the guy on the floor and dropped myself onto him in a sitting position. He groaned again and used my foot to keep one of his hands to the ground, resting both my hands on the other and leaning back on it, to apply pressure. I must have looked like a girl posed up and tanning on a beach. I almost laughed.

When I actually looked at the masked heroes, it was Batman and Robin.

"Hyacinth?" Robin called. His voice was that of the guy who saved me the night before.

"Oh, so you're _that_ Robin. I knew that couldn't be a coincidence."

"You know this girl?" Batman asked his protégé.

"Met her last night pulling a superhero move on a gang of guys harassing some girls. Holy crap, you're bleeding!" he answered. I looked at my arm and the sleeve of my white jacket was becoming soaked with red. Batman helped me off of the guy and Robin proceeded to tie him up and take the sack. I unzipped my jacket and the bandage I'd put on my arm had fallen off inside my sleeve, soaked with blood.

"What's with that stunt? You could have gotten seriously injured, more seriously than that," Batman asked, beginning to examine it.

"I—"

"She got that last night when one of the guys pulled a knife on her," Robin interrupted.

I shot him a glare and turned back to the senior.

"It's nothing serious. I got distracted and he tripped me and I fell on it and it reopened."

"Not serious? The knife went _through_ your arm. There's barely an inch between the incisions. Did you go to a hospital for this?"

"No, she was all concerned about her mom worrying. Instead she had me help her with it," Robin remarked, sounding like he was tattling.

"Hey, sidekick. Could you shut it? It's not like I asked for your help out of the blue. You just offered it and I accepted it." Batman's mouth twitched like he was surprised by my outburst. I could almost imagine his eyebrow raising. Robin came back over to us.

"I'm not a sidekick so don't call me one."

"I didn't call you 'one'. I called you a sidekick. Consider your favour repaid. I just did your job for you."

"No one asked for your help! It was under control. And I'm not the one who got injured last night or just now when trying to do said job!"

I could feel my eyes starting to flame and Batman looked like he was about to step between us, anticipating a fight when I closed my eyes, exhaled and them reopened them.

"You're right. I'm the careless one. Don't know why you seem to care so much. It couldn't be that you're feeling a bit bad that you're not able to help everyone so someone like me feels obligated to step in and gets hurt in the process, thereby practically forfeiting their life."

Robin's whole posture changed and became a bit more rigid. My shot in the dark had hit a target, clearly.

"Y-you're doing the best you can," I tried to console. "And I just supposedly have a crazy sense of justice which makes me stubborn. You can't feel bad about any of that." The Boy Wonder just remained very silent. I realised it was probably time to leave. I'd struck and chord and now he needed to sort it out himself, shove it back into whatever hole he was keeping it in or just deal with it. "Uh, I have to go." I turned and just ran back from where I came.

Luckily, no one has messed with my stuff. Then I would have gone berserk.

**You probably have an opinion about this. Want to tell me? The review button is right there. I know you probably don't feel like typing, you just want to read. But just remember I had to type all this...and the continuation. Show me some love? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Here, have some more Hyacinth for your enjoyment.**

**P.S. The Food Network is pure torture during Lent. I don't suggest you watch it f you're abstaining from anything edible.**

"Mom, I'm going out," I called, heading to the door and just barely worrying about my damaged jacket.

"Hyacinth, wait," she replied. I stopped and turned. I could tell she was awfully worried.

"Mom?"

"I noticed you avoiding your left arm. Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, mom. I just got a small injury yesterday."

"Honey, you can't run around playing superhero forever. You're not invincible, you know." My shock could have been read on my face. All this time I'd thought she didn't know.

"Neither are any of the rest of them—except maybe Superman. Mom, I'm just trying to help."

"I know, and I know I can't stop you. But, honey, you're injured. Couldn't you just not go out just this once? For me? Please?" She really looked so worried. It had my resolve on its ass. One night couldn't be that bad. It would be a good chance to recuperate anyway.

"Oh, alright, mom. I'll stay home." I gave her a smile and a hug. "But I hope this means you're going to occupy my time." She smiled back.

"But of course. I was thinking we could watch our favourite movie again for the fiftieth time and eat kettle corn."

"Sounds like a great plan, mom."

Mom had been really tired from her shift at the hospital and couldn't make it through the movie. At nine, she apologised and went to bed. I tucked her in and kissed her forehead, telling her that she had nothing to be sorry for. She made me promise not to go out to fight crime before saying goodnight. January was in bed since seven, tired from the field trip her class had gone on. I longed just for a second to be nine again. Dad was at work, probably saving someone's life and granting them the surgery that would allow them to see another day. It was just in my blood to help people.

I ended up just going to the roof of the apartment building and looking out onto the city. I hoped and prayed to God that I didn't happen to see anything wrong or else I'd have to break my promise to my mom. I leaned over the short wall and sighed.

I heard steps, running, and then a loud stamp as someone jumped onto the roof. I spun around, anticipating that I would have to defend myself. No one hopping roofs was good news. Except maybe me and the superheroes. Okay, so maybe it could have been good news or nothing to worry about.

A man wearing a skull cap and a tight-fitting suit looked behind him upon landing. Trouble for sure. Before his head swivelled back around, I spun my foot into the side of his face and assumed a sturdy position to make my next move, the way my teacher had taught. The criminal stumbled back and then someone crashed into the back of his head, flooring him, his face just at my feet and the person on the offensive right before me.

"So we meet again," Robin said, smirking. Batman came up a bit behind him.

"Robin! Well, that's really weird," I remarked. Twice in one day. Huh.

"Why are you in a robe and fuzzy slippers? Is that your new vigilante gear?" he asked, laughter in his voice.

"I'm not out tonight. I was just taking a breather. This is my building." Really, why had I felt the need to be so clear in my explanation? I could have stopped after my first sentence. Why did I always speak the truth and the whole truth to his face? "More importantly, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I just kind of blew up and I don't know why."

"What's there to apologise for? You said your piece and you were right anyway. It does bother me a little."

"Oh. Uh, well, don't feel bad. I'm a little better prepared to deal with situations like that than the average person. Well, you know. You've seen me fight."

"Mixed martial arts, am I correct?" Batman asked. I figure he had recognised my form when I was preparing for my next attack on the idiot unconscious at my feet. I nodded. "Who was your teacher?"

"Hanamae. He taught me right before he and his wife left town last year."

"Why would your parents have you learn something like that anyway?"

"They didn't. They're no one shady. They work in the hospital. I just wanted to learn. Deep down I guess this was really my intention all along."

"It's a really odd coincidence how we keep bumping into you, though. I'm whelmed at how odd this is," Robin said.

"Well, earlier, I was just walking home from school when I heard Batman's voice shouting 'stop' to someone. So I suppose all the mysteries are solved as to how I seem to be everywhere you are. I don't believe in coincidence though."

"Why do you think we keep running into each other then?" he challenged.

"Higher power at work?" I offered, shrugging. "I haven't the foggiest." He laughed.

"You've got a talent for this, but I think you need some more formal training," Batman commented.

"You've also got to get over your fears. You can't get spooked every time you see a knife."

"You say that and yet who's there to teach me?" I responded.

Batman handed me a slip of paper and I unfolded it and an address was written on it.

"If you're really serious about it, if you come here, I'll pull some strings for you. But we're not going to go easy on you. Formal training is just as rigorous as field work," he replied. He turned, heading for the other edge of the wall from where they'd come and Robin turned, about to follow him.

"Wait," I called. Batman and Robin stopped in their tracks but at the same time, very in sync and not bothering to turn around. "Why are you helping me?"

"Honestly? I don't know myself," he responded. Then he jumped over the roof and Robin followed with a chuckle.

I knew exactly where the address would take me. It led to the Justice League headquarters, one of the greatest tourist attractions in the entire city.

**You know what I'd like about now. Feedback. Even one-liners make me happy.**


	4. Chapter 4

**It pleases me what good feedback I've getting for this story. Favourites, reviews, subscriptions, everything, it pleases me. And a pleased Serenity's Ghost posts a new chapter because she is pleased. Enjoy.**

I found it particularly strange that my mother had been all for it. The next morning, I showed her the address and told her what happened. She smiled happily and said that I should go and that whatever I chose, she would support me.

"Seriously, mom?" I asked, a bit incredulous. She laughed quietly.

"What, did you want me to say no?"

"Well, no, but I didn't believe you'd be all for it."

"I already know I can't stop you because you're passionate about helping people, just like your father and I are. It will just help me sleep better at night and help you to be more proficient and efficient at it to be trained by someone who's been doing this kind of thing for years." I walked over to her and hugged her and kissed her forehead. I knew she was still worried about me but she understood that this is what I had to do.

After school, I made my way there. There were reporters there trying to spot things from outside the glass, but all in all the place seemed pretty quiet. The building was monumental. I'd seen it many times but it didn't make it any less fantastic or breathtaking.

I had done my homework at lunch and removed all my books from my bag. The only thing in there was my school clothes that I'd changed out of and into my fighting clothes. I couldn't afford to ruin my school clothes. Money still didn't grow on trees on this planet.

Batman came through the front door and walked over to meet me.

"You're late," he said.

"I'm sorry. I had to change the bandage on my arm. I didn't think I'd have time to do it when I got here."

"Maybe you should come back when you've healed."

"No! I mean, I can do this. It won't be much of a handicap. I promise. At least give me the chance to prove I'm not a complete waste of time before you brand me as one."

"You've got guts, kid. It will get you far if you're anything like Robin."

"Hey, Hyacinth!" I turned around. Robin came to stand next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "You excited?"

"Not really. More like nervous till kingdom come."

"Relax. It's just a short assessment."

I was sure I did not hear that right.

"Assessment?" I asked, my voice shooting up an octave. He chuckled.

"Don't tell me you're getting scared, are you?"

"Me? Scared? Psh, no. I'm fearless."

"Except in front of knives."

"Yeah, except for knives. And flesh-eating mutant insects." He laughed.

"Don't worry. There are none of those in there."

"Oh. Cool." Calm still did not come back to me.

We walked through the front door and met members of the Justice League standing there on the far side of the room.

"This is Hyacinth," Batman introduced me as we approached them.

"Oh, my goodness. That's Superman. And that's Aquaman. And The Flash. And Wonder Woman. And...I'm about to pass out." Robin laughed. He was getting lots of things off of me to laugh at.

"Well, don't go all fangirl on us now," he said to me.

"Shut it, sidekick."

"No need to get all touchy. But if you do pass out, I've got your back."

"Could you give me a second?" I asked the League members before me. Before I gave them time to reply, I spun around and took three very deep breaths and then turned back to face them. "I'm honoured to meet you all. You have my utmost admiration and respect."

"Where did the queen of smooth come from?" he whispered to me tauntingly. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Why did you want us to meet her, Batman?" Aquaman asked.

"I'll just show you," he responded.

He turned to Robin and nodded and I got a very bad feeling. I started to turn towards him when he kicked me in the hip and sent me stumbling where Batman had just moved from. I threw myself into a flip to get myself back firmly on my feet. I turned back to him and my arm started to hurt a little from the force I'd put on it for the flip.

"Could you give me a little warning next time?" I complained to Robin.

"Sorry. I thought you could parry that with your _awesome_ MMA skills." He came at me and I blocked his attacks.

"And now you're making fun of me. I hope you don't think you can try to go easy on me and still win."

I grabbed his arm and gave him one kick to the stomach which sent him back. I knocked him off his feet, onto his back and then pinned him to the ground. He groaned.

"Where's the cheap talk now, Boy Wonder? I just knocked you on your fine ass."

He managed to flip me over, pinning me with his weight.

"Who's got who pinned?" I flipped him over again, straddling him this time and forcing his hands behind his back.

"That would still be me."

"Okay. Uncle."

I released him, got up and offered my hand to him. He accepted it with a smile. Good sportsmanship was certainly something he knew.

"Are you okay? Anything broken? Please say no."

"Hyacinth, I'm fine. I've been beaten worse than that."

"Just your ego that's a little bruised?"

"Well, yeah. Just that." I offered him a smile.

"Return the favour sometime then."

"So, she can fight. What's the point?" Flash asked.

"I think we should train her and let her join their group," Batman said.

"Are you serious?" Green Lantern asked. "She's just an ordinary kid—"

"With all due respect, Mr. Green Lantern, sir, most of us are just _ordinary_ people. Robin's just a kid under that cape. So is Batman. So are you...well, you're not kids. All I want to do is learn how to be a better fighter so I can get back onto the streets to help the people that escape your dragnet. It doesn't matter to me whether you want me on their team or not or if you think I can do what you guys do. What matters is that I learn to deal better with the scum that attack little old ladies and skinny nerdy boys. You guys can continue to handle the intergalactic whatevers and experimental what-have-yous."

I noticed the smile that Green Arrow allowed to form on his face.

"Sounds just like me at some point," he commented.

"I think she should join them. She has single-handedly taken down criminals and her fighting skills are far more impressive that what you've just seen. She's got promise, potential. Do you really think it would be within our best interest to leave her on her own where she could get hurt? Wouldn't she serve the world better alive and in a cell of people equally as talented in fighting as her?" Batman said. Why he was vouching for me so vehemently, I had no clue. It felt kind of nice to get that kind of recognition.

The front doors opened and Aqualad, Kid Flash and three other people came through the door.

"Hey, guys. Come on over and meet Hyacinth," Robin called to them. He turned back to the senior superheroes. "The other day she dared to take on four guys who were trying to mess with two girls in an alley. She got a little...unnerved and I helped her out a little, but really I did barely anything at all. She managed to keep those girls safe. We could use someone like her. I'll vouch for her."

I had no idea why they were talking about me joining their group. I never wanted to join their group. I just wanted some more formal training. Apparently, Batman had had an ulterior motive all along. I couldn't say I minded. I would get my formal training and outside of working with them I could help the normal people I needed to help.

The thought scared me a little. Being part of their group was a big responsibility.

"Well, she's got my vote. She did manage to knock Robin on his "fine ass" and she's got the heart of someone who really wants to help people," Green Arrow said.

"She's brave. I think she'd do well," Wonder Woman agreed.

"I don't know. Is she dedicated to working at this?" Lantern asked.

"One hundred percent, sir. I can function three days straight without sleep, I take blood loss pretty well for a while and I'm willing to train through the night if I have to. My only request is that I be allowed to call my mom every so often so she knows I'm still alive. She gets anxious sometimes," I said. I saw some eyebrows raise at my reply.

"Your mother? Is she okay with you doing this?" Aquaman asked.

"She knows and she supports it. She also wants me to be trained so I can just do this better, with or without your groups."

"Give us a second to talk this over, Hyacinth," Black Canary said. She walked closer to the end of the room and I turned to Robin who was wearing his usual, casual, unaffected smile.

"Come meet my teammates," he said. I turned to the people just behind us.

"Well, I know Aqualad and Kid Flash. The others, not so much." I shook hands with Aqualad and Kid.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Aqualad said.

"Yeah, what he said. It's always nice to meet a beautiful girl," Kid joked. I laughed.

"Smooth. Like sandpaper," I commented.

"Anyway," Robin interrupted," this is Miss Martian, Superboy and Artemis. Guys, this is Hyacinth." I shook their hands in turn.

"Are you the reason we were told to come here?" Artemis asked.

"Well, really, I couldn't tell you. Batman just told me to come here and he'd try to get me some formal training."

"So, what's your story? Whose sidekick are you?" Kid asked.

"She's no one's sidekick. She's just a girl we met who's really good at fighting and has nothing better to do in her spare time but fighting criminals and delinquents," Robin answered. I elbowed him again and he just chuckled. "That _is_ essentially who you are."

"You didn't have to make it sound _that_ ridiculous though."

"Who said it sounded ridiculous?"

"I know when something sounds ridiculous, you know."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kid interjected. "Slow it down. You two sound like—"

"Like you and Artemis?" Robin finished. Kid's expression became a little bit indignant. I laughed quietly behind my hand and my phone started to ring.

Which would have been pretty normal, had my phone not been ringing with the sound of 'Don't Cha' by the _Pussycat Dolls_. I suddenly felt just a little bit ridiculous for having borrowed my little sister's phone. Mine, I'd managed to forget it after I threw it at the criminal's head yesterday. It was pretty banged up after that, too.

I quickly pulled the phone out of my pocket and turned around to answer it, not missing the snickers of some of the young heroes around me. It was my mom.

"Hi, honey! How's it going?" she asked.

"Oh, good. I met some members of the Justice League and their um, partners and they're in a corner talking about me in an absolutely not intimidating way." She laughed at me, knowing I was thrilled, panicking and freaking out at that exact moment.

"Oh, come on. Batman seems to believe in you. You've got to give them something to believe in. Open that big mouth of yours. Challenge one of them to a fight. You can do it. I believe in you." I smiled.

"Check and check, mom. Batman had Robin attack me very randomly."

"And?"

"I pinned him to the floor."

"Atta girl. See? You're amazing."

"Thanks, mom. Um, the League is looking over here. I think I've got to go."

"Okay, honey. We'll talk when you get home."

"Bye. Love you, mom."

"You, too, my baby." I hung up and put the phone back in my pocket. Somehow, that was just what I needed to calm me down considerably.

"Your mom?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. She's my little ray of sunshine when things get murky."

"Oh and speaking of cell phones." He took something from the back of his tool belt and held it out to me.

"What's this?"

"Since your phone got trashed when you were helping us deal with that guy yesterday, it was only fair that we replace it."

The thing was a sleek flip phone, black and navy blue, with a big screen on the top as well as on the inside. My SIM card was already in it with all my contacts, messages and everything that was on my other phone. I recognised the phone from an ad I'd seen on TV a few times. An ad that made me drool with lust. I wanted to just pass out. No way, I was now the owner of a _Blackberry Style_?

"I—I—I love it! Gosh, I can't tell you how many nights I dreamed about having one of these. Guess you get rewarded for sacrificing your phone for the sake of the greater good."

The League came back to join us and I put the new phone in my pocket, trying to forget about it for a second and be serious. I had major teenage enthusiasm fever.

"Hyacinth," Canary said. "You start training tomorrow at Mount Justice."

"Seriously?" I asked excitedly, voice shooting up an octave. I cleared my throat. "I mean, so what about right now?" Green Arrow snickered.

"Cool it, kid. You'll get your time. Trust me, enjoy your freedom while it lasts. In the mean time, you've got to be inducted into the League database," he said. "You're one of them now." He gestured at the group of teens behind me and I smiled as I turned to glance at them. It might not have been my intention, but I knew it was what I had to do. Being a part of them would just mean that I had to work a little harder to help those who couldn't help themselves.

"Yes," I acceded. "I am."

The various heroes started to turn for the door not far behind them and they were scanned, names and various IDs stated and the door opened. Batman stepped closer to me while the others went on without him. I waved the phone at him.

"Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. Now let's get your profile into our database," he said. Robin clapped me on the shoulder.

"Welcome to our team, Hyacinth," he said, smiling.

"Thanks," I replied, returning his smile. "I feel welcome."

**Review? Story Alert?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, fanfictioners. I shall warn that this chapter is going to be a bit lame but I think we need a little more insight into Hyacinth's character, don't you think? But I promise, things will start to get interesting very soon.**

"Are you sure this is even necessary?" I asked him as we approached my door.

"It's not necessary, but it's polite. What, are you scared or something? Because the only reason you have to be nervous is if you're hiding something," Robin said, with that suddenly quite annoying grin on his face.

"I've got nothing to hide."

"Then chilax. It's just some formalities."

"Alright. I'm just saying you could have been spared the trouble."

"What trouble? We've got nothing to do right about now."

"Okay then."

I knocked on the door.

"Mom, it's me. I'm back."

"Coming, sweetie." She opened the door and gasped to see Robin himself standing next to me. "Holy crow." She threw me a withering look. "You could have warned me that we were having a guest."

"Sorry, mom. It was impromptu."

"Very." She looked back to him and stepped out of the way. "Come in, come in. It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you, Mrs...Hey, what's your last name, anyway?" he turned to ask me as he came in.

"As if you didn't already _Google_ it," I remarked.

"I don't _Google_. I just...find things. But returning to my question..."

"Quinteros. Our family name is Quinteros. But you can call me Harlene," mom said. "Can I get you anything? Soda, water, juice, anything?"

"Er, some soda would be nice, thank you, Mrs. Quinteros."

January came running in and started talking from in the hall.

"Mom! Have you seen Hy for the evening? She has my pho—" She spotted Robin and it cut her sentence and her stride where it stood. "Whoa." He gave a small wave and I almost face-palmed at the dazzled look on her face.

"January, Robin. Robin, my little sister, January," I introduced quickly. She closed the space and offered a hand which he shook, giving a chuckle. I rolled my eyes and handed her phone to her.

"Here's your phone. Now go finish your homework," I said. She threw me a look which I ignored. She grinned at him.

"Right. Homework. Catch you later." She retreated to her room very quickly and Robin turned to face me.

"Hyacinth and January? Your mom sure is colourful when it comes to naming children." I elbowed him, though I knew he was just teasing a little and meant no real harm.

"And I don't suppose you being short has anything to do with you being named after a little bird, does it?"

"Hey, don't make fun of my name. But speaking of names, what are we going to call you? I don't think you can afford to go with your real name and barefaced."

"What about Cin with a 'c'?" mom offered a she came with the tray. He took one and we took ours and I smiled.

"Mother, you are the awesomest person that ever lived, do you know that?" I said, resting my glass on the nearby dining table and going to hug her.

"Anyway, the real motive for my coming here is to smooth things over with regards to her joining our team. We wanted to make sure that Hyacinth is able to leave wherever she is and come join us upon notice. It'll be a tough and dangerous job and —"

"Hyacinth," she interrupted, "has chosen on her own to live dangerously and working with a group of trained heroes such as yourself will give me peace of mind and her the training, backup and security that she needs. Her father and I have discussed this and come to a consensus. All we want is for her to be happy and we know that she will do this with or without anyone's help or consent. It's just her passion helping people who aren't in a position to help themselves. I want to ask you to take care of her for me. Please."

"Mom, I don't need to be babysat—"

"Hyacinth, you're not invincible. Do you know how anxious it makes me to know that every night my baby is out on the streets chasing criminals and delinquents? Will you let me try to look out for you just this once? He's been at this for so long and even he has a mentor to watch over him. You're not too good to ask for help, you know."

"I never said I was, mom. But it just sounds like you're saying goodbye."

"I'm not saying goodbye, Hy. I'm just making sure that I've done what I can for you."

"Which is something people do when they're saying goodbye."

"Hyacinth, I don't know if anything will happen to you. Let me just do what I can."

It occurred to me again, like it had a million times, how hard it really was for her. I was her first child, her flesh and her blood and anxiety would feel like a million needles implanted in her stomach and along her spine. I nodded, knowing that it would be wrong to continue trying to look strong and discredit her point. She was right. In this, I was the newbie. I needed guidance and it couldn't hurt to at least have someone at my back if I needed them. I exhaled.

"You're right, mom. I'm sorry for being so difficult. I just...like to think I can handle myself because I don't want you to worry." She smiled.

"I'll worry anyway." I hugged her and when I turned to Robin, he gave me a smile.

"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Quinteros. I've got her back, I promise," he responded. "The team will, too." She walked over to him and threw her arms around him for a moment.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." She released him.

"So tell me, did Hy freak out when she got to meet the Justice League?" she asked. Robin smirked widely.

"Yes, yes she did." He looked at me like he was going to roll on the floor laughing at how fascinated I'd been by just seeing them firsthand. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, well, it's time to get dinner going. Will you stay for dinner, dear?"

"Uh, I shouldn't. Thanks anyways, Mrs. Quinteros."

"Will you please just at least call me Aunty Harlene?"

"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Quinteros." She gave a small smile and then retreated to the kitchen.

"You're going to get tired of calling her that," I told him. "It's a long name."

"I had no idea you're Spanish."

"I'm a lot of things. Spanish, white, black, Native Indian and Chinese, a whole mix."

"Wow. Well you don't look Spanish. Actually, I have no idea what you look like." He looked down at the glass and happened to notice that his name was etched into the glass. I mentally face-palmed. Why, oh, why did he have to get _that_ glass out of all of them? "Why is my name written on this glass?" he asked, looking like he was about to burst into raucous laughter. My mother poked her head out from the kitchen.

"It's Hyacinth's. She's a fan of both you and Batman."

"Mom!" She quickly disappeared again and he looked at me with a raised brow. "Well, January is, like, in love with you. She's got a poster of you in her room."

"You never went all fangirl on me like you did with the League members. I'm feeling left out."

"Well, that's just too bad." There was no way in hell that I was going to tell him that having met him almost fully qualified me to die happy now. The last thing he needed was a further ego boost.

"But are you?" he persisted. I sighed.

"Yeah, I am." He grinned wider, something I wasn't sure was possible. "Stop laughing at me, sidekick."

"Hey, I'm not really laughing at you. It's just kind of exhilarating knowing that people admire you. It makes you feel worthwhile, like you're really doing some good and it makes the sacrifice a little less excruciating. Real whelming."

"Don't you mean overwhelming?"

"Nah, I mean whelming. I'm neither underwhelmed nor overwhelmed. I'm just…whelmed."

"O…kay…" He sipped from his glass ad I checked my phone for no real reason except to break the little bit of tension in the air.

"So, how big of a fan are you?"

"Robin, don't make me break your legs." He chuckled and then drained his glass and I took it from him, resting the two empty glasses on the table.

"Do you like the base?"

"What's not to like? It's a secret base. Anyone between the ages of four and forty would think it's totally awesome." I wondered why it was that Robin was still standing here trying to make awkward small talk even though all the formalities were over. Not that I didn't appreciate how friendly he was being, but he was a superhero. It just seemed a little mundane, like when your new friend comes over to your house for the first time and meets your mom. Except of course I wasn't sure if we qualified as friends or just teammates and he was wearing tights. Which reminded me…

"Please tell me I won't have to wear tights if I'm working with you guys," I said.

"It's not necessary but it's what KF and I have become accustomed to. It helps us move as quickly as possible with little obstruction, but of course, it's not normal, standard fabric. I think we'll have to get you something made too."

"Um, I think I'll stick to my clothes for now. I don't think I can afford special clothes."

"You won't have to. Bats will handle everything for you."

"I couldn't, really."

"Hyacinth, would you just chill? Your mom told me to look out for you and part of that will be making sure you're wearing proper clothes so your pants won't rip because they're too tight or something like that. And trust me, it won't put him out at all just to get you some decent clothes. It will however be up to you to pick what you want to wear."

"Can I design something?" I asked, knowing my eyes just lit up like a puppy's.

"Uh, sure. I guess."

"Well, thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome." Suddenly, he touched his ear. "On my way," he said. He looked back at me. "I've got to go."

"Anything you need me for?"

"Nah, Bats is just calling me back. We've…probably got some things to discuss."

"Will you do me one more favour?"

"Depends."

"If they hate me, will you tell me? I'd hate to get all excited only to find out that I'm not wanted." He just snickered.

"You worry about the silliest things, you know that. I can't promise you anything, but if I hear something interesting that I think you should know, I'll tell ya."

"Thanks again."

"No problem." He looked towards the kitchen. "Thanks again for the soda, Mrs. Quinteros."

"Alright. Feel free to drop by whenever you're around," she called back.

"I'll walk you to the front door."

It started off a silent journey down the staircases but then he sighed and I looked at him.

"Boy, it must be great to have such a nice family."

"Yeah, it really is," I replied. "You're parents aren't that nice?" He hesitated.

"My _guardian_ is pretty cool." It didn't take me a second longer to get where he was going with that statement.

"Oh. Okay," I replied lamely. He looked over to me and gave me a half-smile. "Well, my mom loves you so she'd be more that happy if you stopped by every so occasionally."

"I doubt I'll be able to but the sentiment is appreciated." We ran out of stairs and came to the front door. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow for training."

"Yeah. Later."

"Oh and Hy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't go out and get yourself all beat up tonight, okay?" he said, smirking in an absolutely hot but annoying way. The darkness of evening coming through the door mixed in with the lights that were shining from the ceiling only accentuated how gracefully his face was shaped, affecting how his smirk looked even more.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, sidekick. Goodnight." I went into the little mailbox for our mail and when I turned around, he was gone.

A little odd thought hit me. Since when did I start thinking that Robin's ass was fine or that he was hot? I tried to brush it off but I knew somewhere deep inside that something about this whole new arrangement would allude to some things that I could not have expected. I was in for an interesting new experience. I didn't know if to be scared or excited.


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh, what wonderful feedback! Thank you all so much for the reviews! I appreciate them more than you'll ever know. Since I got so many encouragingly wonderful reviews, I was compelled to keep writing and hence, I present you now with a brand spanking new chapter of this fic.**

I fussed with the hem of my shirt, trying to brush away a bit of dirt from it (while hurriedly changing in the bathroom, I managed to fall on my face) when I smacked straight into something in a green hoodie and a dark jacket. I stumbled back, apologising and then looking up to see the face attached to the solid body of the victim of my lack of attentiveness.

"Robin, what are you doing here?" I asked. He started walking and I fell into step with him.

"I came to pick you up, sorta. Your mom asked me to watch over you, remember?"

"I don't think it entails all of this, you know. I think she just meant out in the field."

"Hey, better too much than not enough."

"How about just enough, like being whelmed?" He laughed and seeing how his face lit up when he laughed, I couldn't help but make the already concluded conclusion that he was cute when he smiled. Never no mind, I was already considering how hot he was…I needed to stop right there or things would get awkward real fast. 'He's out of your league, Hy, so don't even consider how hot he is,' I mentally scolded myself.

"Good one," he replied. "Anyway, so Canary agreed to get your measurements for Bats once you supply your design. I told him what you said and he was okay with you designing your own clothes, but you need to get it to him by tomorrow so you can get them the next day. We need you properly attired as soon as possible so you can come out with us."

"I'm properly attired now. I've been wearing the same outfit for six months and none of my tragedies can be attributed to my attire."

"If you end up flashing someone your underwear, don't say I didn't warn you." I shrugged.

"It would kind of almost be the same thing as people seeing me in a bikini anyway."

"Are you trying to tell me that you don't own anything that you'd rather people not see?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I thought for a second and it came to mind that the pair I was wearing right now had kitties and bows all over it. I could almost feel my face turning slightly red, which he noticed. "I rest my case."

We walked in silence for a few more feet and I tried not to picture my pants ripping mid-kick and the laughter of the guys behind me at the sight of pink kitties and bows. I shuddered and checked my shiny new phone needlessly as a distraction. However, it brought up an important thought.

"Hey, if I need to contact any of you, how do I go about doing that?"

"You're supposed to be assigned a communicator soon."

"And when I'm in school or something? I mean, I can't wear the thing all the time. It's going to look suspicious."

"Don't worry. If we need you, we'll find you."

"Okay, then. If you say so."

"Besides, can't you have your hair down to cover your ears or something?"

"I have certain objections for having my hair out in school."

"Man, you are one difficult chick."

"I have to be. The alternative is being easy and that's far worse."

"What, no middle ground?"

"Not for this, there isn't. Anything less than easy generally qualifies as difficult for guys."

"Hey! That is not true."

"For you, maybe. But then again, my simple preference of hairstyle made you refer to me a 'difficult'. So, I rest my case." He just gave me a long look and then shook his head.

"You really are difficult."

"Because you can't seem to win arguments with me?"

"That's one reason."

"Heh, it'll keep this teamwork arrangement interesting."

"I guess it will."

We approached a bike and Robin threw a helmet at me.

"Do you know how to ride one of these?" he asked.

"By myself? No."

"You'll have to learn. We don't exactly have a team car and we're going to need to separate for some missions that will take us far out of the city."

"Oh, goody. Underage driving." He laughed.

"There are certain privileges one gets for risking one's life. This is one of them so don't think of it like that. Think of it as a part of our duty."

"Duty. Sure." He climbed onto the bike and after putting on the helmet, I got onto the back of it and put his waist into something slightly resembling my death grip. No way was Hyacinth Quinteros going to die falling off of a motorcycle. That would look really dumb on my death certificate, and if I had to choose a way to go out, it would be a heroic way.

"Um, Hy, can you not break _all_ my ribs. I might just need a few."

"Sorry. Just trying to get a good grip on you." Dumb sentence. "So I don't fall off, you know." Better.

"Just don't kill me with that grip of yours. You still have a serious injury, you know." Oh, yeah. In all the drama, I'd managed to forget the wound. As if it had heard its name called, it started to throb a little.

The ride was short but Robin had still had to put a hand over my arm twice to indicate that I was about to kill him if I didn't loosen my grip a little. The Mount still looked absolutely stunning since it was all so new to me. We walked through the scanner and it called out Robin's ID number and his name and my name and the ID number.

"We're going to have to change that to your new name. Man, you're totally riding with either Kaldur or Conner next time. My ribs will not be able to handle another serving of you."

"Shut up and stop being such a baby."

"Who's being a baby? You weren't the one in your death grip so you have no idea that you just murdered my pancreas!"

"Ladies, that's enough. Welcome to Mount Justice, Hyacinth," Black Canary said. Robin elbowed me and I elbowed him back and he just chuckled.

"Thank you. So, what are we doing today?"

"Well, first, I want to test your skills. I want you to pick any one of the team members to spar with and you'll face them after you face me for a bit."

"Oh, that reminds me." I pulled my bag from my shoulder and pulled out the design I had taken my time to do in Math class, walking over to hand it to her.

"Nice design. Should I measure you now or later?"

"Now would be better. I think the measurement will be off after you bruise me and I get a few bones broken." She chuckled.

"I won't go all out on you."

"I don't think you'd have to."

"She's just saying that. Wait till you start fighting her," Robin said to Canary. "Then you'll see that you need to go all out on her."

"Well, seeing as you're a sidekick and she's not, there's bound to be an extreme difference in fighting levels," I retorted.

"Hey!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"Apology _not_ accepted! You're not really sorry."

"Then pay me back for flooring you yesterday. Since I'm a hand-to-hand martial arts combat type of fighter, you'd be my best match."

"I will then. And this time I won't go easy on you at all."

"Try me."

"Oookay," Kid Flash said. I noticed he was in plain clothes without his mask, and Robin was the only one really wearing sunglasses to keep his identity a trade secret. "You two certainly fight like—"

"You and Artemis?" Robin responded yet again. It managed to stump Kid again and I just laughed.

"Well, I dunno. She's got fight. I kind of like her. For the very least, we'll get along," Artemis said.

I took off my jacket and Canary began to measure all the various lengths necessary according to the design, marking them down every five measurements she took. She finished quickly and then put the pages away and walked to the other side of the area.

"Are you ready?" she asked as I walked to the other edge.

"No, but we should begin."

"Woohoo, free entertainment. I love this job," Kid said. I rolled my eyes but kept my focus on Canary as best as possible.

"Come at me whenever you're ready."

"It's almost always a bad idea to make the first move," I said. She smirked.

"Alright then." Not a millisecond after she'd said that, she came at me, fist poised for my face, the other gearing towards my stomach. I managed to dodge the one to my face but the one to my stomach landed and I used one of my feet to pull one of hers from under her. She got a little off balance but she almost immediately steadied herself and started coming at me again.

I dodged her consecutive ones, a little more oriented with her fighting and managed to stop the fist that was going towards my neck and kick her back. She stumbled a few steps but then was charging at me again in almost no time. I could feel the adrenaline pumping hard and fast throughout my body as I realised that she had more than enough power to drive me to the floor and her skill wasn't something I could even compare to if I didn't start making first moves. At this rate that I was going at, I'd be toast in no time.

It also occurred to me that if I encountered an enemy that could fight like her, I'd be dead in minutes.

'Focus, Hy. You can do this. This isn't your best. You've got more fight in you than this. Hanamae didn't teach you nothing.' I scolded myself mentally.

My next moves worked to put some distance between us and I managed to slip under her, between her legs, and push her further away from me. That one surprised her. I turned, steadied myself into a solid position and built up my resolve like a rock. I would not lose this easily. For my mother' sake, I would not. I wasn't going to let all her faith in me be for nothing, even if this was just a little test. It was the beginning of the real deal, the world of more than just teenage delinquents and middle-aged desperates.

I came at her and just as she turned back around, I threw six successive punches at her which she dodged though not without some effort and having sent her back, I aimed a roundhouse kick at her head which she parried with an arm. Needing some more space between us, I jabbed at her ribs and backed up a few steps.

A round of applause stopped us both as we turned our attentions to our supposed audience.

"Green Lantern," Canary addressed him. "How strange to see you here." Batman was standing right beside him and I felt the strange urge to bow, Japanese style, as if normal thanks would never be enough.

"Interesting show. For a second, I almost thought she could win," Batman commented.

"Yeah, me, too," Canary admitted. "She needs some work but she's pretty good."

"With a master like Hanamae, I wouldn't expect any less."

"Nice work, kid. If you didn't prove yourself before, you've done so now," Lantern said to me.

"Thank you, sir." He laughed at that.

"No need to call me 'sir'. Lantern is fine." I just didn't know what to say to that. It was almost like the Queen of England telling you to call her 'Lizzy'.

"When I told him Canary was going to be your next opponent, Lantern said he wanted to see that for himself," Batman told me.

"What an honour. I hope for the very least your scepticisms about me have been released," I replied, trying to tell every nerve and fibre of my body not to faint or freak out at just how big of an honour this was to me.

"They have," Lantern replied. "It'll be good to have you with us, kid." Canary handed Batman the sheets of paper and he tucked them away without giving them a look.

"Thank you, Batman. I can't thank you enough for all that you're doing for me. My mother is also deeply grateful to you for everything."

"Just put your best foot forward always and it will be worth it. Having another person on this team is an indispensible benefit for our cause," he answered. "I'll get your clothes to you by tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." It was odd hearing what sounded like compliments and words of kindness from his selective monotone but I could just sense that his words were genuine. I was still too stunned to smile.

He and Green Lantern turned and headed to the door and Green Lantern threw a "See ya later" over his shoulder.

"Are you going to freak out again?" Robin asked me. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I looked at Kid. "Is it really okay for you to be here without your mask and stuff? I mean Robin always seems to keep his identity top secret."

"Robin's the only one who feels the need to keep his identity a secret. We're all friends here, no need to be anything but normal people among each other," Kid said. "In the downtime, call me Wally, or the man of your dreams." I had to purse my lips not to laugh out loud.

"My name's M'gann M'orzz but you can just call me Megan," Miss Martian, or Megan rather, said.

"And I am Kaldur'Ahm. Kaldur will be just fine," Aqualad, Kaldur, said.

"Call me Conner," Superboy said.

"Just stick to Artemis."

"Robin. Just Robin."

"Well, you already know I'm Hyacinth but my codename is going to be Cin, with a 'c'. It'll be nice to get to know all of you."

"Oh, I almost forgot the cookies!" Megan said, flying out of the main atrium to where was probably the kitchen. I wasn't sure if I could yet navigate myself around the place.

"Hyacinth," Canary called. I turned.

"Hy is fine, too," I told her and everyone else.

"I don't think it will be necessary to fight Robin. I think I've got a pretty good idea of how you measure up."

"Thank you, but I owe him the opportunity to get back at me for frequently calling him 'sidekick' and for flooring him yesterday." She smiled.

"Alright. Just don't hurt him too much."

"She won't. Trust me. I don't intend to lose this one." I snorted.

"Ha. As if it's up to you."

"Bring it, flower girl."

I knew I didn't have much energy left after that fight with Canary so I made sure that I floored him after about six attacks, ensuring that I dodged each one of his. I went to pin him, just as I had yesterday and in one fluid movement, he ended up on top. Since I wasn't planning on letting him win, I jabbed him in the ribs and got on top again. As if taking a page out of my book, he jabbed me in the ribs and when he succeeded on getting on top, he pinned my hands behind my back and straddled me.

"How's that for payback?" he asked. With his face that close, it stopped feeling like a fight.

"You're just lucky I was already tired."

"Sore loser."

"Sidekick."

"I say rematch in fifteen minutes."

"Generally, I'd say yes, but I'm an injured person, so I say next half hour." He let go of my arms.

"Oh, right. I forgot. We can postpone it till you're better anyway. Then it'd be fair."

"Could you two get a room," Kid said.

"Jealous, Wallace?" Robin said, starting to get off of me.

"Me? No. I don't have to resort to fighting to get her ensnared by my boyish charms," he replied. Robin offered me a hand and I took it, hoisting myself off the floor.

"Sorry, Wally, but you're not my type," I said.

"Of course I am. What's your type?"

"Not you."

"Oh!" Robin crowed at him. Artemis just laughed. Wally just shrugged.

"Give it time. I'll be your type." I chuckled.

"Well, okay then." Honestly, I didn't even think I had a type. A part of me considered that having Wally flirt with me occasionally would help me forget about a certain guy who was closer to my height who had just succeeded in pinning me to the ground.

Megan returned with a tray of cookies.

"I hope you like oatmeal raisin," she said.

"They're my second favourite. Thanks so much."

"Guys, we're about done for the day so you guys can help Hy get more acquainted with the group," Canary said. "I'm leaving now."

"Understood," Kaldur said. She headed easily to the door and our eyes followed her out.

"So, Hy, do you play videogames?" Kid asked me. I just smirked at him.

"Do green plants need sunlight to live?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Next chapter up. Thanks for the reviews. Thank you for telling me what the story needed and for encouraging me with your kind words. Enjoy.**

It was a nice afternoon and I felt that typical teenage gene kicking in, the one that longs to call up your best friend and tell them everything that just happened when you've had a great night out or something. But, given who I had been with all evening, it wasn't up to me to say anything and I couldn't afford to run my mouth off about how much fun I'd had. After getting his butt kicked about three times in a row, Wally stopped flirting around with me and started actually taking me seriously. Robin, however, was my worst match. He was playing circles around me and the one time that I managed to win against him was a fluke, the right combination of button mashing after becoming totally exasperated with the fact that I was about to get beat. He put that to rest by challenging me to a rematch in which he promptly kicked my ass good and proper. I just handed Wally the controller. The entire group seemed to be entertained by the back and forth exchanges of trash talk towards and from both my opponents. I could win Wally at trash talk and matches, but Robin's undeniable victory and his undeniable entitlement to the proclamation of "In your face" and "Booyah" seemed to foil every one of my retorts.

"Maybe you'll beat me someday," he said, grinning. I repeated his statement in a mocking tone and jabbed him in the ribs with a finger. "You're such a sore loser."

"And you're such a sidekick."

"Yeah, well, this sidekick just sore-losered your face so tell it to the K.O. across the screen." I just laughed.

"Yeah, whatever. Just wait till my arm heals and we have that rematch. I'll whisper K.O. in your ear so it'll feel like a videogame. Except for the pain."

"Just bring it. We'll see if you're really as good as good as you say you are."

He decided, despite the prior damage I'd done to his ribs, that he'd be the one to take me back into the city. This time, I made sure to focus on not squeezing his stomach bag through his nose.

"I'm alive," he declared once we stopped in front of the building. "Hallelujah."

"Shut up." He just smirked and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Your mom must be feeling anxious. You should go."

"If you want to say 'hi', you can come on up. She'd love that."

"Who said anything about—"

"It's written all over your face that you're thinking about her just a little." He shrugged and we started up the stairs.

"Your mom's pretty cool. Besides if I can see January freak out again, it'll make me feel good." I chuckled. "How old is she anyway?"

"She's nine. You're far too old for her." He laughed.

"I wasn't asking it like that, you psycho. If Wally asked, then you should be worried." I burst into laughter and he joined in soon after. "Did you know that when Canary was measuring you, he was mumbling something about your three sizes?" I reined in my laughter and sighed.

"Wow, I had a lot of fun today."

"I'm glad." I got the keys out of my bag and a moment of silence floated in the air between us.

"Guess I shouldn't get used to it. After today, I'll have to stop being a normal teenager and start being a more focuses crime fighter."

"Just a little bit, but in your downtime, you could always come over and play videogames with us again."

"Thanks but during the nights I have to go out."

"You're still with that?"

"I can't forget the regular people around here just because I'm fighting psychos and superhuman weirdoes. They need me, too. They're the reason I started doing this in the first place. It would be wrong to abandon them." He shrugged.

"Okay. Once you don't get yourself killed. But if you ever need help, don't hesitate to call."

"I appreciate the sentiment but I don't want to drag you into something that's not necessarily your business."

"Not my business? In case you haven't noticed, what you're doing now is essentially the same thing that Batman and I have been doing for years. Anything criminal is my business."

"Okay, you're right. Sorry. Maybe I will give you a call sometime…If I need help, that is." I unlocked the door and opened it, walking right in with Robin in tow.

"I'm home!" I called.

"Me, too!" Robin added. I chuckled.

"Robin, dear, hi," my mom said, sounding ecstatic and going straight to him. "Hi, Hy. Robin, can I get you something to drink or fix you a snack?"

"No, thanks, Mrs. Quinteros. I really just came to return Hy to you and say hello."

"Oh, that's nice of you, dear. So, what happened today?"

"Hy had to spar with Black Canary today. She did pretty well for her first time sparring with her. Canary's tough but I think Hy showed them that she's a force to be reckoned with."

"And Green Lantern paid me a personal visit today, too. He apparently wanted to see me go up against Canary," I added.

"Sounds like I missed a lot. I kind of wish I'd been there."

"No, you wouldn't have, mom. Every hit that I almost took, you'd have wanted to drag me out of there." She shrugged.

"Very true, so it's a blessing in disguise that I hadn't. Robin, dear, will you parents be worried if you return late?"

"Well, my guardian won't be too worried. He knows where I am generally."

"Oh." My mother realised the difference as well and gave the same lame response that I had. He continued to smile at her and her eyes flicked to me for a brief second. "Well, I'd really like you to have dinner with us some time."

"Uh, I'll have to see about that."

"If you want I can talk to your guardian for you, you know. I mean, I'm not beyond begging," I told him.

"He shouldn't object. I think he'd be more amused than anything and let me go since he knows it's Hy's mom."

"Well, he sounds handsome," mom said, "especially if he's anything like you."

"Mom," I called. She chuckled. Loud singing sounded from the hall and I felt embarrassed for her. January stopped upon seeing it wasn't just me and mom. Her whole face turned red and she was about to turn and head back into her room to hide.

"Hey, Jani," I called. She turned back, probably hating me for forcing her to stay when she just wanted to go hide in her room. "Come 'ere."

"Yes, Hyacinth," she said curtly, coming over.

"Don't be such a robot. Come chill with us for a bit."

"Okay." She came just a little bit closer and Robin gave her a smile.

"Hi, there. I don't bite, you know," he said to her. Her face was turning redder and redder.

"Nah, he just pins people to the ground when they call him 'sidekick'," I threw in.

"Hey, that's different. You were looking for a fight," he replied.

"So were you." My mom's phone went off and her face lit up a little more when she read the message there.

"You're dad's coming home early tonight. He's on his way," she said. Robin glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I should be going." I chuckled.

"Are you scared of him or something?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? I just gotta go. Maybe I'll meet him when I come to dinner."

"Yeah, maybe. I'll take you to the front door."

"Bye, Mrs. Quinteros. I'll see later."

"Bye, honey."

We started down the stairs and he exhaled audibly.

"You know it's not necessary to walk me down the staircase every time I come over, right?"

"I have to go get the mail anyway. Mom always forgets. Besides, it wasn't necessary for you to come yesterday either. You just did it because you felt like it was the right thing to do. Same principle applies here."

"Okay, if you say so. Are you going out tonight?" I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. No, wait, I have to. I can't not go out just because I'm a little tired."

"Don't strain yourself. Remember you're nursing an injury."

"You don't seem to let me forget."

"I can't. We need you at one hundred percent." I rolled my eyes and ended up missing a step and falling forward. Robin grabbed the back of my jacket and pulled me back from what could have been a tragic and stupid accident.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"Just do me a favour and stay in until your arm has healed. Please. I don't want to have to come save you again."

"Then don't. You could always let me get beat up."

"You know I can't do that."

"And I can't stay in and let other people who can't defend themselves get beat up and mugged or violated or kidnapped." The stairs ended and we headed for the door. "I'll try to be careful but I can't promise you that I won't go out at all."

"Fine. I can't stop you so I'm not even going to bother to try. But if you come back tomorrow with more bruises, don't say I didn't tell you so."

"I won't. I just won't show them to you if I can hide them." He looked away from me for a moment as we stopped by the door. His eyes came back to me.

"Look, Hy, don't think of this as the end of your normal life as a teenager. It really isn't like that. Wally and I, we're pretty much normal teenagers. It's just that we have to get serious and do thing that most kids our age don't do now and again. It won't take over your life, I promise. Things can still be fun."

"Robin, I appreciate your attempt at consolation but I still have my doubts. You guys have been at this for years. You know the ropes. Me, I'm new at this. It might take me a good long while to adjust."

"Plus it doesn't help that you're going to try balancing two tasks instead of just one." I shot him a venomous look which he didn't seem to take on. "You're not alone, Hy. We've got your back."

I gave him a small smile and he offered it back to me. We stood there for a few seconds with nothing more to say.

"I've gotta go, Hy. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Bye, Robin. Take care."

I headed up the staircase, thinking over everything he'd just said to me. He had just essentially promised for the whole team that they'd be beside me if I ever needed them. After the fun we'd had earlier, it really did make me feel like it was going to be easier than I thought being one of them and that they were ready to welcome me as their teammate and their friend. It was an endearing and warming feeling and I couldn't help but smile. It didn't put my fears to rest, but it certainly made me feel like they weren't quite as large anymore.

The thought wasn't conscious or sudden, but I knew that me reflecting on our conversation was about more than just the fact that I needed some comforting. Half of the consideration was because of who said them. It reminded me of one of those adorable _Taylor Swift_ songs and videos where the girl falls for her friend because he just happens to be nice and gorgeous and because he secretly likes her, too. I wasn't assuming that Robin had taken any special liking to me, but he was warm enough to me that it made me feel like for the very least, he thought of me as a friend, perhaps even a good friend. I sighed but the smile remained plastered on my face. Despite all the bravado I put up, all the running around chasing and fighting people, I was still a normal teenage girl, prone to all the stuff normal teenage girls were prone to. Including those things called crushes.


	8. Chapter 8

I hit the opponent before me, ducking as the one behind me threw a right hook at my face and using my elbows and fists to attack his solar plexus and push him to the ground. I noticed one of them heading towards Megan from behind and I ran to get the guy before she could even realise that she was at risk. One kick to the head sent him to the floor and Megan spun around, noting the guy at her feet.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

The holographic training set up shut down, revealing the normal lay of Mount Justice. Batman approached and we all turned towards him. I noticed he was carrying a garment bag and a long rectangular box.

"What's up?" Robin asked his mentor casually.

"I brought Hyacinth's clothes," he replied simply.

At this, I raised my eyebrows. Why would a superhero feel the need to hand deliver a costume for a…novice? Something else was up.

"Uh, thanks a lot," I responded, taking what was in his hands from him. "I guess I'll just go try this now." I ran to the closest bathroom and started stripping very quickly.

I took each of the things out of the garment bag and I had to stop and stare for moment at them. Sure, I had been the designer, but, gee, the way they looked in the material they had used made them look five times better than I'd ever imagined. The pants were smooth against my skin and there was a half-inch of skin exposed between the pants and the top. The violet top held on tightly to my waist and bubbled at the bottom, moving towards my neck like a collar in both the front and the back and leaving my arms exposed. The jacket, made out of a flexible material, looked similar to the one I already owned, with a straight, short rectangular collar. Something told me that even though the pants and jacket looked like black denim and leather respectively and the blouse looked like satin, I could probably take a knife to them and barely leave a scratch. I took the boots out of the box and stared at them for a solid thirty seconds before I put them on over the pants. The shaft went all the way up to my knee comfortably and the inside was plush to ensure that I could be on my feet all day if I had to. The wedge was barely two inches high so I would be in maximum comfort. Forget functional, I looked pretty darn hot.

I stepped out of the bathroom and walked back over to the group and I saw maybe three pairs of eyebrows shoot up.

"Absolutely not! We can't let you go out there looking that!" Wally said. "I know you're trying to dress up for me, gorgeous, but that should only be for my eyes." I rolled my eyes.

"Take off the jacket a second, let me see something," Canary said. I did as she said. "Turn around." I obeyed and I could almost feel her eyes boring through my back. "Hm. Nice outfit, kid."

"Thanks," I said simply, turning back around. "Well, at least I know that if the gig as a superhero doesn't work out, I can be the League's designer." She chuckled at this and I cracked a half smile. Somehow, my eyes managed to find and focus on Robin and he was looking back at me with this somewhat intense gaze, kind of like he was searching my face for something. Suddenly, he face-palmed.

"Almost perfect. I almost forgot this," he said, approaching me. He took something from behind his belt and came to stand right in front of me. He opened the small box and took out an eye mask from it and carefully put it to my skin, moving his fingers along the edges of the mask to make them stick, eyes carefully trained on the task at hand, no pun intended. I was just a little surprised when he moved his hands from my face and it didn't fall off. Obviously, it had some special kind of adhesive on it. "Now it's complete." He walked back over to his friends and they continued to study me and I had to force my eyes down and they ended up on my arm and the white cloth wrapped around it.

I knew the only thing that was spoiling the look a little, or making it look that much more butch, was the bandage wrapped around my arm. I stared at it for a few seconds before the sound of Batman clearing his throat, brought me back to attention.

"Does everything fit properly?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks again."

"Don't mention it."

Batman walked over to the holo-screen not far behind him and brought up a map.

"I'm actually here to issue a mission as well," Batman said. The six of them, as if on cue, came closer. I started to come forward but then the thought hit me that I probably wasn't going to go with them yet since I had just joined the team about two days ago. Batman was about to speak when he noticed I was just standing lamely by myself. "This includes you as well, Cin." I closed the distance between myself and the group in two seconds and he began the briefing.

"This," he said rather sternly, "is just a reconnaissance mission. We're sending you to a research facility in the heart of the jungle in Panama. We want you to find out as much as you can about the premises, including the level of security, and if possible, how many floors there are to the building and what's on each one. Rumours have been circulating that they've been conducting some highly classified and extremely dangerous experiments on various animals and a few human test subjects. We need you to gather as much information as possible so that the League can decide whether or not to intervene."

He closed the screen and faced us again.

"Do not, I repeat, _do not_ let the guards or any personnel of the facility spot you and avoid destroying any part of the facility, as you have in the past. We would like to ensure that they do not know that they have landed on our radar. As for your approach, I will leave that up to you all to know how to go about investigating. I don't think I have to tell you that you will need to take the Bioship. You've been debriefed, head out."

"Yes, sir," Kaldur said. I began to get the picture that he was the leader of the group. I would have to check with Robin or someone so that I just had my story straight.

They started walking away and I followed, grabbing the gloves that I'd noticed had been tucked into the back pocket of my pants and slipping them on, making sure they were secure, nice and tight onto my wrists. I had been shown the Bioship very briefly during my initial tour of the place but this was my first time inside.

"_Hello_, Megan!" she said, slapping her forehead. Suddenly another seat sprang forth from the floor and the others shifted around so that they were neatly placed in the ship.

"Oh, sorry for the extra crowding," I said.

"Oh, it's no problem," she replied sweetly. "The Bioship will easily be able to handle this addition." She sat in the seat in the centre of the ship and everyone seated themselves like it was routine. I took the new seat and almost jumped when the seatbelts wound themselves around my body. This was something I'd certainly have to get used to.

When we were up in the air, I kicked the chair in front of mine, Artemis', and she turned with an only slightly peeved expression.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Is Kaldur like the leader of the group?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He's kinda the only one who can deal with the job."

"Oh. What kind of leader would you say he is?"

"He fits the job. He knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses to some extent and he's not a shout-first-and-ask-questions-later type of guy. It takes a lot of get him worked up." I relaxed a little. So if I did something wrong I probably wouldn't get screamed at…provided I didn't like blow the whole place up, I figured.

"Thanks." She turned back around and I sat in silent pondering for the rest of the ride. I was so nervous that I thought I was going to scream at any minute if I didn't sit there and focus on not screaming. I scolded myself for it, but this was my first mission and I thought I was at least entitled to having a very fitting panic attack.

We got off the ship and it cloaked and I had to try to refrain from looking around in awe like a bloody tourist.

"Okay," Kaldur said. "Batman only gave us a vague idea of how big the compound is supposed to be. The best option, therefore, would be to break into groups and try to approach the facility from various points. Robin and Artemis, you'll take the southern point, Megan and Superboy, approach from the east, Kid, I want you to try for the front entrance and Hy and I will approach from the west. If you are about to encounter trouble of any sort, pull back and take cover in the surrounding forest. We'll meet back here in an hour. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No," I said, zipping up my jacket, "but I just hope you guys won't accidentally or otherwise leave me in case something happens. That might be pretty important." Kaldur frowned.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Because my passport expired last month and I kinda don't have it on me so it will be kinda hard to get back to the States. You know, provided I don't get captured and executed first. Or experimented on." Robin burst into laughter, Kid and Meg chuckled and Kaldur just barely cracked a smile.

"We won't leave you behind. Don't worry. Now, everyone, move out." Everyone took off, leaving me and Kaldur there. "Come on." He broke into a jog and I followed.

I barely managed to dodge a tree that was about to kiss my face while running through the forest and I had to force myself to stop considering the fact that I could mess up and die and just focus right now on not dying by tree. Kaldur turned to look at me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Not exactly."

"You are nervous."

"Well, to put it mildly."

"Relax. Trust yourself to know what to do in a situation such as this. Batman thought you capable, Robin thinks you more than capable, but only you truly know your capability. You must trust in that capability, especially now when you cannot turn back. Remember your motivation. We could save people if we help the League to stop the illicit activities going on here." No, duh, Kaldur was right. How I'd allowed myself to forget why I was doing this and why I'd let myself fall back into the mindset of an average person was both very unacceptable. I could feel the shield of my resolve building back up.

"You're right. Thanks. Tch, now I know why you're the leader." He nodded and the western side of the facility's wall came into sight. He summoned water below his feet, offered me a hand which I quickly took and we sprung onto the top of the wall in one quick motion. I pulled myself up just enough to see as a guard with a dog passed and then pulled myself on top of the wall to see if another guard was hot on his tail. There wasn't another and I nodded at Kal to indicate that we should go in from the window that happened to be facing us. He formed a water whip and I grabbed his arm and we used it to catapult us to the window in the same way we got to the wall. I grabbed the ledge as it came closer, allowing Kal both his arms to do the same.

I peeked first to make sure that the room was clear for entry and then pulled myself into the room, offering Kal an arm to help him in, which he took.

"Robin to Aqualad. We're in the building up on the third floor," Robin said.

"And I'm in the front on the ground floor," Kid added.

"Fourth floor," Meg responded.

"We are also on the third floor. Robin, Artemis, I want the two of you looking around on the second floor. Maintain your discretion. Everyone else, stay where you are and search the floor. Whoever finishes looking around first should head up to the fifth floor and tell us when you're there. Whoever finishes afterwards can tackle the sixth floor. Be sure to radio your position whenever you change floors," Kal instructed.

"Roger that," they responded.

"Hey, Kal, did Hy smack into a tree yet?" Robin asked.

"Shut up and get downstairs, Robin. And say that to my face later," I retorted. "If you dare." Artemis chuckled.

"Ooh. Sounds like you're going to be in trouble," Kid commented.

"Over and out. Get back to work," I said. Kal gave me a half smile.

"Nice work reining them in," he said. I smiled back.

It was a short hour of creeping around and searching the floor. On a few occasions when we encountered locked doors, I stepped in with two pins from my hair and unlocked the doors in less than ten seconds. Kal looked like he had something to say but just pushed open the door and went in and we began to search. Kid got to the fifth floor first, quickly followed by Conner and Meg to the sixth. When the hour was up, Kal and I went out the way we came and soon we were heading back to Mount Justice. Batman was the first person to greet us, in a manner of speaking.

"What did you find?" he asked, getting straight to the point. I checked my phone as I walked though the door and noticed that it wasn't even ten o' clock yet.

"We found some files lying around on the second floor. They were conducting and keeping all the experiments of the first floor, probably as a measure of security and convenience," Robin began. "They would probably unleash them in case there were intruders."

"Floors three and six had several labs dedicated to creating various batches of two toxins," Conner stated.

"The third floor was dedicated to the toxin for experimentation in tigers, while the sixth floor was for those on monkeys," Megan extrapolated.

"Security wasn't tight at all. Either they had to cut back on security or they're really confident that no one would find out what was going on there," Kid added.

"That," I cut in, "is what's so suspicious. If they were really trying to keep what was going on there hidden and to themselves, the security should have been way tighter. There was barely anyone on that compound to begin with and it was really easy to evade all of them. The place was totally quiet and the hardest part was probably climbing in through the window! More than half the doors were open despite how empty the place was and those locks were rather easy to pick. I didn't even bend my hairpins prying them open. With all due respect, if you'll forgive me for asking, but this was all a test, wasn't it? Because there is no way in hell that a facility for doing illegal experimentations would be that easy to break into, search and escape from. It just seemed too...neat."

Batman studied me for a long moment and then broke into the smallest of smiles. Robin laughed and I looked to my left to see all my fellow teammates smiling at me, except Conner who I figured never really smiled. I face-palmed.

"And they were all in on it," I sighed.

"Congratulations on your first recon exercise. You managed to handle the situation in an appropriate manner. However, there will be other, harder missions. Welcome to the team," Batman said.

"So, technically, I wasn't part of the team before now?"

"We had to make sure that you wouldn't crack under the pressure of being on an official League mission. Since you had no experience working in the field doing more than just fighting, we had to see if you'd be able to handle the job when needed."

"You were listening in on the radio, too, and heard about my freak out then."

"Yes. You handled that well, too."

"Thanks to Kaldur."

"Remember, as leader of the team, it is his job to make sure that all his team members stay motivated and keep their heads in the game. This exercise was also necessary for him to see your strengths and weaknesses so that he knows what to do with you."

"You could have saved him the trouble and just asked me, you know. I've gotten to know what those are over the years."

"Then perhaps we should compare notes. I am sure there is still so much about you that I do not know," Kal said. I exhaled.

"Do you want the pluses or the minuses first?"

"Pluses."

"Okay. So, as you found out, I can pick locks fairly well—"

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Artemis asked, sounding curious.

"I…used to run with some delinquents when they managed to rope in my best friend—purely for protection detail of said friend, mind you. I spent most of my time trying to get her out of it, but I did manage to pick up some trades in the process. I can also dismantle a lock very quietly from the outside or inside and jam it." The eyes on me looked a little weary but I just cleared my throat and continued. "Anyway, so yeah, picking, jamming and disassembling locks, except of course electronic ones, I'm a pretty good runner with stamina enough to cover a mile and a half before I collapse. I was trained in mixed martial arts and defensive acupressure—"

"Defensive what?" Wally asked. I chuckled.

"Defensive acupressure. There are spots on a human's body that if you apply the right amount of pressure, you can either help to energise and stimulate them or inhibit or disable them. In some cases, if you hit the right combination of pressure points with the right force, you can actually kill someone. Defensive acupressure works to inhibit or disable whereas medical or therapeutic acupressure does the opposite. I can do defensive to the extent of inhibiting my opponents' movements; not so sure if I can actually kill anybody."

"Cool."

"Maybe I'll show you sometime. If we ever have to spar, I might just be forced to use it on you. But, continuing with my list, I can function three days straight without sleep, I take blood loss pretty well for a while and I'm willing to train through the night if I have to. I'm pretty good at following orders but I will suggest a better route of action if I see one. Oh, and I can lift one and a half times my weight, if necessary, so hoisting myself through windows and stuff is pretty easy once my arms are not already exhausted.

"As for the minuses…" Second exhale. "My main problem is with knives. I can't really see them or else I get pretty spooked. I also get mad pretty fast. I'm not bulletproof either and serious exhaustion makes me almost useless. And, as you saw, I'm prone to anxiety and nervousness."

"Is that it?" Kal asked, expression calculating and careful.

"Pretty much. But I'm sure with some training I can be less of a liability."

"You're not a liability."

"I nearly got K.O.'d by a tree."

"I knew it!" I heard Robin say quietly. I shot him a look which shut him up.

"Minor. You just needed to get your head in the game." Optimist.

"Okay."

"We should probably add lack of self-confidence to that list. That can be as much of a problem as any of your other weaknesses." I shrugged.

Batman lifted a hand and drew our attention back to him.

"Training will resume tomorrow at the usual time," he said. He turned to Robin. "You and I need to talk when you get the chance." Robin nodded and Batman just walked straight out the door. I wasn't sure if to feel concerned or if it was just a routine thing between them. From what I knew, Batman was a rather stoic person so concern and vexation probably sounded the same in his tone.

I returned to the bathroom where I had left my clothes and changed back into them, carefully putting my new suit of clothes back into the garment bag and box and gathering them up with my schoolbag. It was about time for me to head home.

"Bye, guys. I'm heading home," I said. Kal nodded and Wally, Superboy and Artemis just looked at me. Robin wasn't with them.

"Uh, okay," Megan said. She looked sceptical about something.

"What's up, Meg?"

"Um, well, I was wondering if you wanted to sleep over a night. Here." I gave her a small smile.

"Sounds fun, Meg. Maybe you could teach me to bake cookies or something so I won't be a completely useless woman someday," I replied, chuckling at the end. She burst into a radiant smile that made me feel suddenly excited about it. "When were you thinking of?"

"Uh, I don't know. When are you free?"

"Saturday night my mom has to work has to work the night shift and my sister will be over at a friend's house for a sleepover, so my mom would probably send me, especially since it's not a school night."

"Won't your dad be home alone?"

"Yeah, but he comes home at two p.m. on Friday afternoons and sleeps till Saturday so he won't mind."

"Oh. What does he do?"

"He's a doctor. He works from Tuesday to Thursday, straight through so we don't see him too much unless he goes on vacation or unless they let him come home. Of course, he's a workaholic that loves what he does so we're lucky if he takes a vacation once every two years." I chuckled but Meg's expression seemed to become a bit saddened.

"You must miss him."

"We do. But he's doing something good, something he enjoys, so we can't begrudge him for that. He and mom work at the same hospital so she seems him more often that we do, which is good for her because she needs his support sometimes. I think I stress her out a lot because of what I do." I gave her a half smile. "Well, we should save some conversation for Saturday. I'll see you then, Meg." I turned to head to the door.

"Uh, okay. Bye, Hy!" I waved at her without turning and in a second, I was out the door. Despite how well everything had supposedly went today, I really wanted to be alone, even if it meant walking all the way back home. I had more than enough to think about.


	9. Chapter 9

**Long-ish chapter ahead, featuring some Robin-Hyacinth bonding…ness…Yeah…Going away now, leaving you to read…**

I should have known that given how things were going, I would not get the opportunity to be alone. Before I could make it fifteen steps away from the Mount, a very familiar voice called out to me, albeit one I didn't really want to hear right now.

"Hy!" Robin yelled. He jogged over to match my pace. "What, do you plan on walking home?"

"Pretty much."

"With all that in your hands?"

"Pretty much."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You suck at lying."

"Okay."

"No, seriously, what's wrong?"

"I…just need some time to think about everything that's been going down."

"About this afternoon, you mean."

"That constitutes most of it, yes."

"Talk to me."

"Didn't The Bat want to see you?"

"He said when I get the chance. I've got something to do in the meantime."

"You don't have to walk me home, Rob. I could use the time alone, anyway."

"And if you die because you were walking with all this stuff in your hands, that suit would have been for nothing." I exhaled. He was dancing on the wrong nerves at the wrong time. "Your mom asked something of me, remember?"

"Again, I don't think she meant meeting me at school or making sure I get home. She just meant—"

"And how are you so sure about that?"

"Robin. I think I'm going to drop what's in my hands and punch you in a minute."

"Our rematch will only go down after you're healed."

"Me punching you will have nothing to do with our rematch."

"Do really want to be alone that badly?" I stopped walking, closed my eyes and took two deep breaths.

"Probably, probably not. I don't know. I just feel like I have some internal kind of vertigo. There are a few things I have yet to understand, yet to grasp and yet to grow comfortable with. I kind of want to scream. And all this frustration is making me a combination of depressed, angry and upset. You being around makes you a likely target for my frustration."

"You think I wouldn't understand but I do. How do you think I felt the first time Batman took me out with him on a mission? The adjustment process is hard but you can do it. You've just got to be a little patient with yourself. You're going to make mistakes, big ones, and you're going to get hurt. You're going to mess up. But then you're going to learn from them and do better next time. You just have to try and try and try until you find the right fit for your life, the right balance."

We walked in complete silence for an entire minute and after a long while, Robin looked over at me to see the expression on my face.

"Sorry," I said. He looked confused for a long moment at my apology. "For snapping at you."

"It's alright. Let me help you with something." I handed him the box and silence walked between us for another long moment. I wondered if I imagined the double meaning in his words.

"Can…can I ask why you're being so nice to me? It's not that I don't appreciate all this that both you and Batman are doing for me, it's just that I don't understand _why_ you're doing it. What benefit does this have to both of you?" He seemed to think about it for a long moment, eyes to the grass, and then he looked back to me to give his answer.

"You're…like me in a lot of ways. You're just trying to help and you're willing to do what it takes to make sure that you can help to the best of your ability. I guess that's what makes it so easy for me to want to help you, because I've wanted to become the best superhero I could be. Don't get me wrong, I haven't arrived yet. I've still got lots of work to do. Anyway, it's just really easy for me to relate to you in so many ways. It's easy for me to hang out with you, to talk to you. I guess without me even realising it, I came to think of you like a really good friend. And friends help each other. As for Batman, well, you'll have to ask him. That one's lost on me."

I could not have just heard all that right. I think my mind auto-tuned some of that.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"I said, that you have to ask Batman to find out why he's helping you."

"No, before that."

"That friends help each other."

"Before that."

"I…kinda think of you as a really close friend." I could see the slight blush spreading over his cheeks even though his eyebrows were furrowed in questioning. I nodded twice slightly.

"Huh. I thought that's what you said." I exhaled. "I guess that makes me not the only crazy one."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, genius Boy Wonder, that I seem to feel the same way."

"Oh. Well you could have just said that instead of making it sound like you thought I was crazy for feeling that way."

"One, it is a crazy feeling. We met like four days. And two, I said we were both crazy. So if you end up in a sanatorium, you'll have company…probably." He chuckled.

"Wow, does anything you say come out right?" I elbowed him.

"Yes. My brain just chooses the most insulting way to say things when it knows I'm talking to you."

"Sure. Likely excuse."

"It sure is." A comfortable silence floated for a long moment. "Hey, Robin."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for stalking me out the door and ignoring my barbs at you." He laughed a little.

"You're welcome. That's what friends are for."

"I hope you know I'm here for you if you need me. You know, despite all your crazy secrecy stuff."

"_Rolls eyes_. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, so I heard you're sleeping over at HQ with Megan."

"Yeah. It would be more fun if I could get all of you guys there but I know that it's stupid to ask for a unicorn if I can only get a horse." He laughed again.

"Interesting choice of words." I half-smiled at him for a short moment.

"Do you know you laugh a lot?"

"I do?"

"Yeah. It's not a bad thing, it's just…weird for someone with your job description."

"Well, I'm in civvies right now, so technically, I'm just a normal teenager right now."

"It is said that for some superheroes, the person they are when they don't wear the mask is really the façade." He shrugged.

"Sounds pretty true, if you ask me. Well, when I think about Batman, I guess that's true. Maybe for me, too. Wally actually told me once that he feels naked in civvies so I guess we could say the same for him, too."

"Do you ever take those sunglasses off?"

"Yes. I don't sleep with them on." I gave him a dry look and he just snickered. "Yeah, I do."

"Your eyesight is going to suck soon if you wear them so much."

We reached the end of the forest and I hailed a taxi as I saw it approaching. We got in and I told the driver where to go. As he pulled off, I took my phone out of my pocket and called my mom to tell her I was on my way.

"Does she wait up for you every night?" he asked.

"She tries, but most nights she's just so tired from her shift at the hospital that she falls asleep on the armchair facing the door. I've told her to stop doing that and to just try to get a good night's sleep but she's as stubborn as I am sometimes." I longed to ask him about his parents, if he knew them, what happened to them, what they were like. I resisted the urge. It might have been sensitive territory and he probably would have opted not to say anything about it in general. "So, from when does _the man_ get pissed about you making him wait?"

"He doesn't get pissed. He usually knows where I am. Besides, I know better than to keep the man waiting unnecessarily. I do have manners, you know."

"Poor as they might be."

"Hey!" I laughed.

"Relax, I'm just yanking your chain."

"And _who's_ manners are poor, you say?"

"My manners are only poor towards you, Robby."

"And Wally."

"The only reason I said that to Wally is because I knew that wouldn't affect him in the least. But it's true, I guess. He isn't my type."

"Then what _is_ your type?"

"I don't know if I have one. It's just not him. I think he's a little too self-obsessed and flirtatious. Then again, I have realised that you're a little sweet on Meg, too."

"Who, me? Nah. Conner's got a thing for her and she has one right back for him."

"I knew I didn't imagine seeing her smile when Kal put them together for the mission. But it's kind of obvious how you flirt with her. There are only certain things that these eyes miss."

"Like people who are right in front of you, or stairs."

"Exactly. I notice that stuff when they're really important but otherwise, they're lost on me. But stop trying to change the subject. I was talking about you and Megan."

"There's nothing there to talk about."

"Have you ever considered making a move, like an actual move?"

"Didn't you just hear anything I just said about Conner?"

"Yeah, but Conner's not doing anything about it, is he?"

"And why aren't you on Wally's case about his flirting with Megan?"

"_Because_ he and I aren't in a taxi cab right now."

"She's cute, but she and Conner have something concrete. I think I'll just step back from that."

"You know that means not flirting with her anymore, right?"

"Yeah."

"It helps to constantly remind yourself about Conner and to focus your attention on a new target. There aren't any girls in your school that you like?"

"Me? No. Enough about me. Is there anyone you seem to be sweet on? Batman, maybe?" I gave him a wide-eyed look.

"Um, first of all, ew, he's a little old for me," I began, laughing. "And second, I feel nothing but utmost admiration towards him. I can't believe you would even insinuate—"

"Hey, he's done an awful lot help you. Maybe that would have made you, oh, I don't know, see another side to him and fall—"

"Don't even say it." I shuddered and he just laughed at me. "I might prefer them older than me but that's taking it a little far."

"Then, I guess older is your type, just not really old."

"Well, it's not an absolute must."

"You'd date younger guys?"

"Hard to believe? Provided they're not too much younger and they're not annoyingly immature, then, yeah, I'd date them." I hoped that didn't sound too much like a hint.

"Was your last boyfriend older or younger?"

"None of the above."

"He was your age?"

"No."

"I don't get it."

"I've never had a boyfriend, genius."

"Oh."

"And what about you? Older, for sure, right?"

"Nah. I've just never really had the time to have a girlfriend. It's not that Batman pushes me so much that I can't have a life, but I spend a lot of time trying to get better at what I do. What's your excuse?"

"Most of the guys going my school are complete idiots so I ignore them. Plus, they're most, if not all of them, afraid of me."

"Why's that?"

"Well, that same best friend of mine I was talking about earlier, she's a magnet for trouble. There was one particularly sleazy guy that was trying to get her to go out with him. She actually fell for it and he ended up just embarrassing her; apparently it had been some kind of joke. I flipped out and beat him up after school the next day when he had the gall to walk around the school taunting her about it."

"Nice."

"My mom got called in but would you believe, when she got there, the VP congratulated me? She used to see everything he would do but she wasn't in any position to deal with it. I got barely a slap on the wrist and was let go. Of course, my mom was more than a little upset that she'd had to be called away for getting in a fight but she didn't think I'd really done anything wrong. She was a little worried about my record. But after that, I never got in a fight again, not that I had to after that. I used that fear that had accumulated to stop fights on many occasions though."

"How big was this guy?"

"Um, about Conner's height and build."

"Whoa. Must be rough playing security guard."

"It must be done. It's kind of fun actually. And, of course, I pick up some useful skills. Like lock picking."

The cab pulled up to my building and I paid the guy and started getting out when I noticed Robin wasn't getting out.

"You're not coming?"

"Nah. I've got to head back to HQ and then to the head honcho." He handed me the box and I nodded.

"Thanks for coming with me as always."

"See ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, later." I shut the door, the taxi sped off and I started up to the apartment.

My mom was awake when I walked through the door and she smiled when she saw the things in my hands.

"I hope you know you've got to play model for me. I'm excited to see your new outfit," she said. I rolled my eyes, pressed a kiss to her forehead and headed to my room to go do a quick costume change. I really couldn't say no to my mom.


	10. Chapter 10

**And we've hit double digits! Somebody say 'whoa'! **chirp, chirp, silence** …Okay, don't say 'whoa'. Rather, read the 10****th**** chapter **does mini-clap** and then review please :). - look, a smiley with a lip piercing…**falls on floor**…Okay, I need to stop talking/typing now…Going away now…**

I showed up for practice like a good little girl scout and then went home, showered, changed into some normal clothes and picked up the bag of sleepover stuff my mom had helped me pack last night. After I checked the bag about four times to make sure I didn't forget my toothpaste, underwear, toiletries or any other very crucial thing, and a few movies that I figured we might watch, I kissed my sleeping dad's forehead very lightly, leaving a note on his bedside table to remind him where I'd gone, and locked the door behind me. I took a cab to the connecting forest and walked to the base entrance.

"I'm home!" I shouted as I came through the door. Conner and Artemis turned to look at me when I came into the living room. They were setting up sleeping bags in the floor, having moved the coffee table. I set my stuff down on the couch and went to the kitchen where Megan was chopping some onions with a big knife, Wally next to her, seemingly just watching her work.

"Hey, Megan," I said, hoping my voice didn't sound like I was panicking at all. I felt a little ball of nervousness curl into my stomach. 'Calm down. It's just Megan. She's just making dinner. Would you calm the hell down?' I scolded myself mentally.

"Hey, Hy," she responded. Clearly my face must have been reflecting what I was trying to hold in because she straightened infinitesimally and hid the knife behind her back. "Sorry." It calmed me a little but I still knew it was there. I gave a nervous chuckle.

"Heh, it's okay. It's my fault for having such a terribly illogical fear. I mean it's not like _you're_ going to hurt me, right?" She gave a small smile.

"Right. I won't hurt you."

"Can you believe it's so bad that I can't be in the kitchen while my mom is cooking? I'll help her peel potatoes and carrots and chop stuff, but I can't be around a knife. She's got to give me a peeler or I have to use the food processor." I sighed. "I disgust myself sometimes."

A pair of hands spun me around and I found that I was looking at Robin.

"Chill out. It's okay. Just stop looking at it," he said.

"I can't chill out. What kind of idiot can't be around their own mom when she's chopping stuff with a knife? It's just ridiculous. This fear is illogical. It's not like I've ever been or witnessed someone be seriously injured by a knife before. I mean, all the injuries I got from knives weren't even really serious."

"Have you always been afraid of knives or did it just start happening after someone threatened you with one?"

"Not too sure. It might have been the latter. I can't remember. But anyway, why did you make Wally and Artemis stay to help set up? I could have done that, you know. I'm afraid of knives, not chores." Robin smiled.

"You said you wanted everyone to sleep over with you so I made that happen for you."

"No way. Wait, except Kaldur, right?"

"No, I'm right here," Kal said from somewhere behind me, I spun around, forcing my eyes to avoid Megan with the knife and I saw him coming in. I offered each of them a smile.

"Thanks, guys. You really shouldn't spoil me but I really appreciate this. This'll be fun. Is Nanny-Tornado in?" Wally chuckled.

"Nah, he said he'd give us our space. He went to the Watchtower for the night," Wally said.

"Are you sure your parents aren't having a heart attack that you guys are here?"

"Relax, Hy. You worry too much," Artemis said.

"Very true. My father says I'll give myself ulcers someday like that." She snorted.

"You just might," she responded. I walked towards my bag and picked it up.

"I'm going to get into my PJs and I'll be right out. I brought some movies in case you guys felt like it."

"Ooh, ooh, are they satin? Lace? Short? Sexy?" Wally asked. I snorted.

"You know, I was thinking about bringing those but then I decided not to pack them." His face looked surprised and disappointed.

"Seriously?" he asked. I laughed.

"No. I don't own anything that fits any of those descriptions, especially not a combination of them." Wally frowned and I laughed all the way to the bathroom.

Changed into the long, chequered PJ pants and the purple baby-tee, I re-emerged and took a seat next to Conner on the blue couch.

"Where are Arty and Robin?" I asked.

"Changing," Wally said simply, still standing next to Megan who was standing in front of a skillet now, cooking up something that smelled like sweet, savoury heaven.

"Aren't you going to change, too?" I asked Conner. He shrugged.

"In a minute, I guess." Silence floated for a while.

"You're not really chatty, are you, Con?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, you never seem to say anything more than is absolutely necessary."

"Is…something wrong with that?"

"No, not at all. Don't get me wrong. It's just a little…rare, I guess. I'm usually surrounded by people who can't shut up, and I'm one of them. I can't help feeling you're…distant from the rest of us. From me." His expression softened.

"It's nothing personal. I just…seem to have trouble relating to most people."

"I get it. I heard briefly about your bio from Robin once so I can't really blame you. Social interaction is a trial and error kind of thing sometimes. I can't tell you how many times I've said something that created a…complex situation. I'm sure, for you, you spend half your time just trying to understand what's going on around you. I'm probably no help at all, but if you ever need a point of reference, I'm here for you, okay?" He half-smiled and in my mind, it was like scoring a winning goal.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem, Conner."

Megan set a marvellous dinner before us and I nearly started to cry. I quickly went to her, hugged her and kissed her cheek. No one appreciated good food more than me.

"Holy crow, Megan. I love you. You are officially my best friend in life," I said. She laughed.

"Oh, okay. Who knew it was this easy to win you over," she said as I let her go.

"I'm a simple girl. Feed me and I'm yours." Wally flashed beside me, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"So, if I feed you, you'll be mine?" he asked.

"If you make me an Italian brisket without anyone's help and without burning it, _then_ I'll be your girl, Wally." His arm removed itself from my shoulders and he stepped back.

"Okay, I'm out." I laughed. Artemis scoffed.

"As if you'd ever have a chance with a girl like her," she threw at him. He was about to say something to her when I cut him off.

"Let's eat," I declared.

Artemis and Wally were on dish duty after dinner and I was a little concerned that the wares would end up being thrown at each other rather than clean, dried and carefully put away. We were all seated on the bed of sleeping bags on the floor, waiting for them to come back and trying to figure out what to do next. Conner had finally gone to change and there wasn't much difference in his clothes. His pants just looked a little comfier. The shirt was pretty much the same. Kal emerged after dinner in a sweater and pants, both dark blue. I wondered if that was his favourite colour. I often saw him in it.

It didn't escape me that Megan had opted to sit next to Conner or that his facial expression grew a little less sulky when she did. Nor did I miss the glances he threw in her direction, like he just needed to see her face. Or that every time she caught him staring at her, they just smiled at each other and she blushed. I had to suppress the urge to keep watching them and smile. Screw the movies, this was entertaining enough.

Wally came back and sat as far away from Artemis as he could. He sat next to Robin on my right and she sat next to Kaldur who was on my left.

"So, Wally, are you ready for me to open another can of whupass on you?" I asked him, grinning as the game started loading.

"Gorgeous, _please_. I was going easy on you," he insisted.

"No, you weren't, Wally. You're just so bad at this that you can't win one match against her," Artemis threw at him.

"Oh, like how she can't win one against me?" Robin threw in.

"That is not true. I won against you once!" I retorted.

"Yeah, by _accident_. You just started button mashing like crazy. I thought the controller would break."

"Hey, button mashing is an artful gaming strategy in its own."

"Yeah, for noobs who have no idea what the buttons are for," Wally added.

"Oh, yeah, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and try to win against me, Wallace. See if you can talk to me like that after I hand your ass to you." Robin crowed again at him and Wally just patted Robin's shoulder and threw an arm around his shoulders.

"Why don't you say that when Robin's your opponent?" he said.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, I've got to put you in your place."

As promised, Wally lost to me about six times and then I lost to Robin about six times who won against Artemis six times. After immense amounts of encouragement, we got Kaldur, Conner and Megan to play and Conner managed to be the champion over them both. Robin was the grand champion for the night and as a reward, he got to pick the movie. Of course, he chose the action thriller that I'd brought.

Megan didn't seem to be able to handle the gore, so I waited for a long time to make eye contact with Conner to mouth for him to put his arm around her shoulder. She went for the popcorn, though I knew that was just an excuse to get away from the movie for a minute, and I just continued to mouth my message to him. He studied me with a confused expression for a long time until I did the same thing to Robin and then nodded at him and he obeyed when she came back, just as some guy got his head chopped in two. When I turned to Robin, he was giving me an odd look, like he was about to laugh and was a little weary of me.

"What are you doing?" he whispered. I tipped my head in the direction of Conner just as a particularly gory part of the movie caused Megan to turn into his chest to hide her eyes. I moved my hand and he gave me a sly smile. Clearly, he got where I was going with this. "Good job."

"Thank you."

"Now if only you could get a boyfriend that way," he teased. I elbowed him and he elbowed me back and this continued back and forth a few times until I pushed him on his side. He sat back up, laughing but didn't retaliate. "See," he said. "I'm the bigger man here."

"Sure, you could say that if you weren't my height."

"Hey, I'm like two inches taller than you."

"Sure you are. That why we were able to see eye-to-eye when you put my mask on yesterday, right?"

"Your shoes were tall."

"Give up, _Robin_." He picked up my emphasis on his name and he poked me in the side.

"Shut up. I'm trying to see the movie."

"Everyone dies but the hero at the end." He frowned at me and I chuckled, but let him alone for pretty much the rest of the movie.

After the movie was done, Megan chose a romantic tragedy and she went to refill the popcorn while I put it on. Conner and Artemis went with her to stretch their legs and we shifted around so that I ended up where Conner had been with Robin still to my right and Wally still to his right and Kaldur moved around and went to the spot where Robin had been. Artemis came to sit to his right and when Megan and Conner returned, Megan sat on the other side of Kal and Conner sat between her and Wally.

Half of the movie was in Spanish with subtitles and it was quite tragic. Megan started to cry and I didn't have to give Conner the signal this time for him to put his arm around her. Wally, Robin and Kaldur ended up falling asleep ten minutes through the movie. Apparently, the sorrowful, romantic-ness of it all was too much for them to handle. Conner probably wasn't really watching the movie, just observing what was going on in relation to Megan's reactions and Artemis was just holding her hands to her heart like she was feeling the sadness of the movie but it wasn't as moving to her as it was to Megan.

I had seen the movie already so I knew what was going to happen and that dulled the effect. Instead, I divided up my concentration among the movie, Conner and Meg, Artemis and the sleeping guys, Robin in particular. Wally's mouth was open as he snored and Robin had managed somehow to pass out with his shades on. I was sorely and extremely tempted to touch them and see if he would rouse from sleep like a ninja and pin me to the ground.

The movie ended finally and Megan looked exhausted from all the excitement. She put the untouched bowl of popcorn in the kitchen and then returned.

"I think I'm going to sleep now," she said.

"Yeah, me, too. It's after two," Artemis said with a stretch.

"Agreed," Conner said. "We should get some sleep." We all climbed into our sleeping bags and I noticed as I was getting comfy that Conner's hand was just barely touching Megan's. I smiled. I had done good work. Still not feeling quite as tired as anyone else, I slowly moved my hand towards Robin's shades and touched them, starting very slowly to pull them from his face.

"Touch my shades again and I'll dropkick you," he said. I chuckled and ruffled his hair and he slapped my hand away sleepily.

"Goodnight, guys," I said. I got a few mumbled replies and I closed my eyes. The night really couldn't have gone any more perfect.

I awakened as I usually did at three a.m. for no apparent reason, and found Conner awake and just sitting in the kitchen. I got out of my sleeping bag as quietly as I could and went to join him.

"Hey, Conner. What's up?"

"Did I wake you?"

"No. My body just has this horrible habit of waking me up at three a.m. for no reason. It usually takes me three quarts of an hour to get back to sleep. What's your excuse?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"I can't imagine why. This must have been the perfect night for you." His eyebrows furrowed and I turned to look at Megan as she slept. She was smiling, happy. I half-smiled. Making her happy was a fulfilling little project. I didn't know when playing Cupid became my personal task, particularly with this particular set of people, but it was something to do, I guessed. Socially awkward Conner just needed a little push in the right direction and Megan certainly didn't need one. She was more or less blatant about her affections for Conner.

His eyes followed to her as well, and the corners of his lips turned up as he watched her sleeping ever so peacefully.

"I dunno. I just couldn't sleep."

"Feeling tense, maybe?"

"A little. But I guess I always feel that way." I chuckled.

"There's no need to live like you're walking on eggshells all day long, you know, especially with your friends, and that's essentially who all these losers on the floor are."

"Losers?"

"Not literally. It's just something people my age use as an affectionate term for their friends sometimes. I don't suggest you use it unless you learn to smile more first. I mean it affectionately here, not like the insult."

"Oh."

"Anyway, back to my point. My dad always said that if you just fully explain yourself with as little editing as possible, people should get your point. We don't care if you're Superman's clone. You're Conner, Superboy, our friend and friends don't like to see friends in a quandary about anything." He nodded. "Is the reason why you're a little tense tonight of all nights because you don't know where to go from here with regards to Megan?" He thought about it for a little while and then nodded.

"I...just don't know what to do," he confessed, looking down at the countertop.

I smiled at him. He might have been a clone but he was pretty much a normal teenager when it came to things like this.

"Trust me, Conner, half of us don't know what to do about it. God knows I don't. I don't even know how far I can let this go because he probably just wants to stay friends." My eyes went to Robin before I could tell them not to and Conner's eyes followed. His eyebrows rose upon realising, with a softer look on his face with a bit of comprehension and empathy mixed together there. We were soldiers fighting the same battle, sort of. "Anyway, the only thing I can tell you to do is what my mom told me to do if I was ever in this sort of situation. You've got to take things at your own pace or else you'll mess it up. You can't rush because then you won't think things through and they might come out wrong. But you also can't wait too long or else you might lose your chance or even that might be misinterpreted. If you need time to think things over, you need to tell her that, so that she won't think you're avoiding her.

"Of course, that has to come _after_ you indicate to her how you feel. If you don't let her know that she's not alone in feeling that way and you just tell her you need to think things over, she's going to jump to conclusions, wrong conclusions maybe. She might think you don't want to be friends with her anymore."

"I almost kissed her once. I got...interrupted," he told. My eyebrows rose at that.

"Well, then, you _do_ know what you're doing. Well, sorta, anyway. You should probably make that happen, though. For discretion sake, you might prefer to kiss her when you're alone, but I guess you can't let every little interruption stop you or you might just never get to do it. But anyway, back to the main point of things, you need to take it at your own pace. When you're ready, ready to kiss her, ready to tell her you like her, ready to love her, then alright, go with it."

He seemed to stop and let that process for a minute and then he offered me a nod.

"Thanks for the advice." I beamed a wide smile at him.

"No problem. I just hope my advice doesn't get you in trouble. But if it does and you hit me, I don't think I'd make a fuss. I'd deserve it." He frowned.

"I wouldn't hit you."

"I hope not. Unless we're training. That's reasonable. _If_ you can hit me. It's not like I'll stand in one place and let you hit me if we're training." I got up and went to dig in the fridge for God alone knows what and came out with a churro that Megan had made yesterday that she'd told me she'd keep for me (before Wally ate it). "Anyway, Conner, my man, you should go try to sleep. It might help if you focus on Megan's breathing to put you to sleep. I won't tell her. Promise."

"Oh, okay. Goodnight then. But what about you?" I chewed on a piece of churro and then pointed it at him.

"You don't worry about that. I'll get to sleep in due time. Oh, and by the way, you _cannot_ tell anyone about my little crush on you-know-who. I don't think it would be tragic if anyone found out, but I think I'd prefer that to stay a secret until _I_ work out what I'm doing about it. For all we know, it might pass and then telling him would have had no point." He nodded, understanding. I exhaled. "Now to work on the whole Artemis-Wally thing." His eyebrows furrowed and I half-smiled. "It's obvious by the way they fight that there's something there. You'll see." He nodded and I tried not to see the irony in my own words. "Thanks for the company, Conner. And thanks for trusting me enough to ask me for advice. It means a lot."

"Thanks for trusting me, too," he replied, a small smile on his lips.

"Now get your butt back to bed." He nodded and I just sat there and chewed on the churro as I watched him get comfy in his sleeping bag, eyes on Megan. For some odd reason, I really hoped that things would work out between them. Maybe it was the sense of justice within me that wanted them to be happy but whatever you called it, I hoped with all my heart that they could find their happy ending. It was more than up to me to find mine now but tonight—or this morning, rather—was not, I told myself, the time to think about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, so this chapter is pretty long but I must say, it's one of my favourites yet. I hope you can find at least one thing in this chapter to make you laugh out loud or smile. I don't know about you guys but I'm a little jealous of Hy.**

I awakened to the sound of the vibration of my phone beside me and realised that it was six a.m. which was my usual wake up time. Everyone else was still asleep and I considered for a not-so-brief moment going back to sleep. I silenced the phone and shut my eyes and sleep came back for me not a minute later.

I was vaguely aware of the sensation of someone poking me in the neck and that slowly brought me back to consciousness. I groaned, wanting to sleep for another day but then the poking got harder and more frequent.

"I'm going to break your finger if you don't stop that, January," I mumbled.

"Yeah, you'd like to try," Robin's voice called from the darkness of the back of my eyelids. Well, that wasn't January. My eyes flew open and I saw Robin kneeling before me, finger poised to poke me again. I got up and started getting vertical in a sitting position, rubbing a hand over my face.

"Okay, I'm up. No need to keep poking me."

"Why? It irritates you; that's more than enough reason to keep doing it." I gave him a dry look.

"I will bite you if you keep poking me," I said slowly, emphasising each word. He chuckled and I looked around. The only person who was still sleeping was Wally. Megan was already in the kitchen starting breakfast. "So you wake me first instead of Wally?"

"Oh, would you have preferred me to wake Wally so he could do something creepy like watch you sleep?" I frowned.

"Good point. And, for the record, that's not always creepy."

"It's usually creepy."

"When Wally does it, it might be creepy." I threw a brief glance at Conner as he reached into some cupboards overhead in the kitchen for some things for Megan. Lucky bastard was probably in heaven right now. I started helping them roll up the sleeping bags as Robin woke Wally. Kaldur and Artemis were nowhere in sight, probably grooming themselves already. My phone told me it was seven thirty.

It occurred to me that I needed severe amounts of grooming to look like a decent human being again and I grabbed my bag from the couch and headed to the next available bathroom. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, dressed and put my hair in a ponytail. Finally satisfied that I was human and presentable again, I walked out to the kitchen whistling as best as I could.

"Hey, Meg. What's for breakfast, bestie?" She laughed.

"Eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast and blueberry muffins." I sighed.

"Megan, how would you like to come live with me? All you have to do is cook for me and I'll shelter you for the rest of my life." She laughed again.

"Sounds tempting but I think I like living here. It's kind of nice." As if I didn't know why.

"Understandable, Megan. I won't take it personal. Even if you are breaking my heart. Or my stomach. Whichever one you appeal to more." Her laughter floated through the air again and I saw Conner smile at the sound of it.

Robin took a seat next to me and poked me in the side.

"Your phone woke me up at like six a.m. What is the deal with that? Were you planning to run away?"

"Have you been up since then?"

"No. I fell right back to sleep but it made me wonder what kind of maniac gets up at six a.m. on the weekend."

"It's called discipline and it makes it easier to get up when I have to go to school. I don't usually sleep this late."

"Good morning, everyone," Wally said, coming back from the bathroom, extra chipper.

"Hey, Wally," Megan said. "Breakfast will be ready in five minutes."

"Now if those aren't the best words I've ever heard, I don't know what are. I've always dreamed of waking up to you making breakfast." Artemis emerged and scoffed.

"That's sexist, Wally," Artemis said.

"No, it's not. It's just the ultimate fantasy." I chuckled.

"Of all the things you could fantasise about, you fantasise about Megan making breakfast for you?" I asked. "You clearly lack creativity when it comes to fantasies." He raised an eyebrow at me and I laughed.

"What do you want me to fantasise about?" he asked. I covered my mouth with a hand to stifle a laugh.

"Nothin'."

"Are you sure you're a girl? Because you sound and _act_ a lot like a guy," Robin said.

"That's probably because when I was growing up, my best friend was a guy about two years older than me. He used to live in the apartment next to ours but three years ago, he moved out. I grew up reading comic books and watching action shows, following the work of superheroes and collecting toy soldiers. I've listened to everything from metal to screamo to R&B to techno. That might explain why I'm so...special. Either that or I'm just not a girly girl. Watching anime doesn't help if you're trying to not think perverted thoughts either."

Various bowls and plates of breakfast dishes floated towards us and landed along the centre of the table as Megan and Conner started walking towards the table.

"Dig in, guys," she said, taking a seat opposite Wally who was on my left. Conner sat across from me and I offered him a smile.

"What, no one says Grace?" I asked. Conner and Megan gave me an odd look like they had no idea what I was talking about. I shrugged. "It's okay, I can say it." I said Grace, trying not to feel like a complete idiot or a ridiculous religious nut. No one seemed to be giving me any weird looks so I just started dishing out my food and we ate in silence for a while. That is, until my phone started to ring to the sound of 'Conspiracy' by _Paramore_. I put it on speaker, not wanting to have to stop eating. Megan could marry me for how well she cooked.

"Hi, mom. You're on speaker, by the way."

"Hi, hon. Why am I on speaker? Well, you are, too, but still." she asked.

"Because we're having breakfast."

"We? Your friends are there?"

"Yup. _All_ of them."

"How nice. Hi, kids. Thanks for inviting Hy over. She needs a life."

"Thank you, mother." I rolled my eyes. She laughed.

"You're welcome, dear. You know my life revolves around me pestering you or what your cousin from Trinidad would refer to as 'making out your scene'." I wanted to fall off the chair laughing.

"Please don't say that again, mom."

"Why? It's fun to say."

"I don't know. It's just something kids my age tend to say when their parents try to use slang."

"Ugh, you're so difficult." I put my fork down.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that? First, Robin, now, you?"

"It's true, dear. You _are_ difficult." I picked it back up and kept eating.

"Everyone say hi to my mom." They chorused a 'hi', everyone except Robin who waited to throw in his 'Hi, Mrs. Quinteros' after everyone else.

"Hey, darlings. Hi, Robin. What's for breakfast, dears?"

"Um, eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast and blueberry muffins, Mrs. Quinteros," Megan said.

"You must be Megan, the chef. And please, kids, call me Aunt Harlene or just Harlene. Hy has told me about all of you. I've got to have you guys over for dinner one day." In a softer tone, I heard mom say. "January, come say to your sister."

"Why?" she asked.

"Oh, come on January," mom replied.

"January, you know I can hear you, right?" I said. "_And_ all of my team."

"Geez. So you mean if I tell them you have a _twice_ pierced belly button they'd hear me?" I laughed humourlessly as the eyes fell to me.

"January, I'm going to beat you up and lock you in the closet when I get home." I looked up to the staring eyes. "And she's lying. My belly button isn't even pierced once." I took a bite of toast, chewed and swallowed. "Now just say hi and go back to Lala land, Jani."

"Okay, fine. Hi, Hyacinth's friends. Bye now," she succumbed. My mom laughed.

"You are not going to hit your sister, by the way, Hyacinth," mom said to me.

"Can I still lock her in the closet?"

"You know she's claustrophobic so no." I laughed.

"That's why I should—"

"And I should hang knives all over the house."

"Point taken. Don't worry. You know I'm all talk and no action when it comes to January, even if she is the rudest thing that ever did live." She laughed.

"That's not true. There are worse. Anyway, your father is up and he's going to want his breakfast. See you this afternoon?"

"Sure, mom. Bye."

"Bye, kids. I'll talk to you some other time, I hope, if my daughter would shut up sometime." Before I could protest at the comment I knew she had made in jest, she cut me off. "Bye, Hy. _Te amo, querida_."

"_Igualmente, mama_. I'll call you later." I snapped the phone shut and looked up at my friends.

"You're Spanish?" Wally asked.

"I'm a lot of things. Spanish is just one. But no, I can't really speak Spanish. It's just something we do sometimes."

"Your mother is very nice, Hy. She's very friendly, warm," Kal said. I smiled.

"She really is. As opposed to January. She's not always that horrible, don't worry. She behaves, if you threaten her. Or if you sic Robin on her. She'll get all coy in no time." I chuckled. "I'm kidding. She's a good kid, she's just in that early preteen rebellious stage. Guess I've got society to thank for that."

"So, when are you going to take me home to mommy?" Wally asked.

"If you need medical attention, maybe. But then I guess I'd take you to my dad at the hospital."

"Your dad isn't scary, is he?"

"He's tall and broad and maybe a little intimidating."

"Never mind." I just laughed. "But I still don't believe you about the belly button thing."

"Liar," I retorted, lifting my shirt just a little so that they could see I was telling the truth. "But anyway, anybody know what we should do today?"

"We could go to the beach," Kaldur suggested.

"Sounds fun…I did not bring a bathing suit." My eyes shifted to Wally. "The answer is no." I could practically read what he was thinking because it was all over his face. He just shrugged.

"I could lend you one," Artemis said. "The odd thought just occurred to me when I remembered there's a beach on the other side of the mountain. I brought two in case we were going swimming last night."

"You know, these things never come to me," I said, starting on the muffin. I shook my head at myself. "I think I'll take you up on the offer, thanks."

I didn't know if it was their motive or not, but they certainly kept me talking all through breakfast. Being the chatty girl that I was, I talked with them about everything that was prompted, my family, how I started running around and beating up delinquents and criminals and, thanks to Robin, my superhero obsession. I did not push him off the chair, like I wanted to, but instead, like a good sport, talked about it. I heard some stories about their previous missions before I had come along and got a better picture of who they each were and how they themselves got into the business. With, of course, the exception of Robin, who barely spilled anything about himself. Artemis was also a bit tight-lipped about her history. I understood that there were just some things people preferred to keep to themselves. Even if it was among so-called friends.

I volunteered to handle the wares and told them to go ahead and I'd meet them on the beach. They offered to wait, but I insisted and they all went off to change, except Megan and her organic clothes, while I went to the sink. I was used to washing wares—not the knives, of course—so I was through with all the plates in a flash, so to speak.

"Sure you don't want any help with that?" Robin said from behind me. I hadn't even heard him come in and I almost dropped the bowl in my hands.

"Shit, Robin, you've got to stop doing that," I said, spinning around. His gave me a sheepish look and shrugged. He was already in his swim trunks, shirtless and with a towel around his shoulders. And, as expected, his shades were still hiding his eyes. At least he'd actually have a use for them now.

"You…do that a lot, don't you?" he asked. Didn't take a genius to realise he was talking about my choice of words.

"Sorry. Bad habit, I know. Another disadvantage of having a guy as your best friend: you pick up bad habits." He shrugged again.

"You know if two people tackle that, you'll be done faster."

"It occurs to me that you have a secret passion for washing wares, Robin." He chuckled.

"Nah, just trying to get you to the beach faster. Everyone will be four shades darker by the time you finish."

"If you so insist. Can you dry these for me and put them away?"

"Sure."

"So, Conner is helping Megan build a sand castle. You must be awfully proud of yourself."

"I might have given him a bit of advice early this morning after everyone was asleep. What will really make the difference is if we can get them on the beach alone at sunset. That should more than provide them with the perfect setting for things to really advance."

"You're having a little too much fun with this, you know."

"Am I? Call me nosy, but helping people is more than just about saving them from wackos and juvenile idiots. I'm trying to give them both the chance to feel like they belong and that they do have a chance at happily ever after."

"Sounds to me like you're a hopeless optimist that watches too many movies."

"Maybe. But it's better than having a stick shoved up your…tail all the time. Sue me if I'm trying to prove either to myself or other people that life doesn't have to be a tragedy all the time. Superboy, Conner rather, is facing enough stuff as it is. He's trying to find his bearings in the world, and he doesn't know what it's like to have a family or people who really love him. Megan does, or she's heading in that direction on a bullet train and since he feels that way, too, why shouldn't I do everything I can to give them the chance to experience what a lot of people don't? It's something pure and different between them because they aren't as tainted with the ideologies of this world. It's more than about the fact that he's hot and she's cute. They _care_ about each other and that's as pure and as sweet as it gets. Their version of happily ever after will just consist of taking criminals to jail and dressing each other's wounds, that's all."

A long silence drifted.

"I…wasn't discounting what you said, you know. No need to get so defensive. I was just yanking your chain." I shrugged. "But I agree with what you said. It seems like Superman isn't really stepping up to take the father role with him yet so Megan's just what he needs to keep him in check and make him feel like it's not his fault all the time. In any case, why were you and Conner up _alone_?" I scoffed.

"There's a heinous insinuation in your tone. I think you should take care of that."

"Well, you did just say that he's hot."

"And that Megan is cute. So either I'm bisexual or your point is moot. And for the record, he _is_ hot. Even Artemis thinks so. There are a lot of people I think are either hot or cute and I'm not particularly attracted to them. Like that actor from the action thriller movie last night."

"Hey, I'm just covering my bases here. You know about my little crush on Megan while I've got nothing on you."

"Don't you worry about that, birdy. I think I should get to keep my secrets since you keep yours."

"Heh, fair enough."

I lifted the last bowl to wash it when I noticed the knife under it. I dropped it back into the sink with a gasp and a thud. I stepped away from the sink and tried to force myself to think about something else.

"Knife?" Robin asked. I nodded, eyes still closed and he put his hand on my arm and steered me to one of the chairs by the counter. "Stay here and calm down. I'll handle the rest." I opened my eyes and he had retreated to the sink and I felt so horrible about the whole thing. I kind of felt a little like taking myself to the beach and drowning myself but I wasn't really fond of the idea of suicide. If I had to go out, I wanted to go out like a hero.

That didn't erase how embarrassing and pathetic the whole thing was. It kind of made me wish I was home right now so that he, or the rest of them for that matter, hadn't had to see me like that.

"Sorry," I said softly.

"It's okay. We've really got to work on that, though."

"I know, I know. I just don't know how. I think every time I see a knife it just gets worse and worse. It's a stupid fear and I'm so tired of being so useless."

"Stop it. You're not useless. You're probably just traumatised after a particular incident. We can work through it. Bats and I had a long discussion about it actually."

"Oh, good Lord."

"We both agree that that could be a seriously dangerous fear for you. Not everyone walks around with guns. God forbid we ever come across the Joker or some other knife-wielding idiot and you freeze. They won't have mercy on you or any of us just because we're kids."

"Thank you, Captain No-Shit Sherlock Obvious."

"Chill out. What I'm trying to say is you have to get over it and we're all willing to help you, okay?" I took a breath and exhaled and he finished with the wares just then and turned around to look at me, leaning against the counter behind him.

"Sorry for snapping at you again. And thanks. Why the heck is it so easy for me to be such a horrible person to you?"

"Don't know. Beats me. Maybe you've got some sort of grudge against me because I'm hot and I'm awesomer that you."

"Please. I'm so not _whelmed_."

"Hey. Just go get changed and let's go down to the beach before they figure you got lost or the dishes ate you or something. Artemis said she left the bathing suit by your bag on the couch." I found it just where he said I would and I hurried up and went to change.

Finally, emerging onto the beach, I was stunned by how amazingly breathtaking it was. Never mind I was an easily _whelmed_ person but this base seemed to be _it_. I noticed that Megan and Conner had finished building their sand castle and were now working on burying Wally in the sand, with a super-exaggerated superhero physique.

"Hey. If you actually did a little working out, you might actually look like that someday," I commented as I approached him. Artemis and Kaldur approached, too, and Artemis laughed.

"That never gets old for you, does it?" Wally asked. "Well, that's fine. You know what they say: love is pain."

"Don't take any of it seriously, Wally. You're just such an easy target. I can't help it," I replied, chuckling. "But, take comfort in the fact that you're not the only one. Boy Wonder gets enough barbs thrown at his ego, too. But we see _eye-to-eye_." Wally laughed, picking up on my pun.

"I told you. I'm taller than you," Robin insisted. I turned a little to look at him.

"Sand's uneven. We'll never tell." I shrugged and then spun back around.

"While Megan and Conner are burying Wally, and I hope he doesn't get out," Artemis said, forcing me to have to stifle a laugh, "Kaldur and I wanted two other people to play volleyball with. You guys game?"

"Sure," I replied.

"Totally. Girls against boys," Robin responded.

"As if you'd win that way," I retorted.

"Oh, we will. Kaldur's got my back. You don't stand a chance."

"And volleyball is one of the only two sports that I'm good at. We can play beach soccer afterwards so I can beat you again. _If_ Kaldur and Artemis are up to it and if Kaldur hasn't had enough of me kicking your cans at sports."

"We'll see who'll win," Kaldur said, smiling, accepting the challenge.

"Yeah, we'll see," Artemis said.

"Bring it," Robin said. "We'll see who's handing who's butts back to them."

The match was close but Artemis and I made good on our promise and beat them by three points. Soccer was pretty much the same, but Megan and Conner had decided to join us and Wally volunteered to the referee. Naturally, we thought he would have cheated for the boy's side but he was actually a pretty fair referee and in the end, we won against the guys four-three. I stood facing the water, resting a bit after the match when suddenly I was hoisted into the air by one pair of arms and was carried into the water, where I was dumped. I emerged from the water and found Conner and Robin at the edge of the water, arms folded and Robin was laughing. Obviously, Conner had been the one to throw me, but Robin was the mastermind behind it.

"And _who's_ the sore loser, you say?" I said as I approached. The water felt pretty darn nice but there was no way I was letting him get away with that.

"Are you going to lift _me_ and throw me into the water?" he challenged.

"Don't think I could do it? In any case, you weren't man enough to throw me in yourself so there."

"I'm still dry, though." I smirked.

"We can change that." He raised an eyebrow. "Kaldur, would you say it's justice to throw him in after he had me thrown in for no real reason?" Kaldur smiled like he was holding back a bit of a laugh.

"Yes, I would say that is justice," he responded. My smile widened.

"Good. Because I'm all about justice. So Megan, could you help me out here." The smile wiped clean from Robin's face and before he could so much as move, Megan had him in the air and then in the water. Conner smiled approvingly and I offered him a high five which he returned. "Have you learnt your lesson yet, Boy Wonder?" He didn't resurface immediately and after ten seconds, Kaldur attempted to rush into the water to see if he was okay but I stopped him with a hand. "It's Robin we're talking about here. He's sneaky and is probably trying to get his revenge. He's probably expecting me to come save him out of guilt. Give him another ten seconds. He won't die but my point will be proven." Ten…Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…Five… Now I really hoped I was right. Four. Three. He resurfaced and his shades were somehow miraculously still on his face. I smirked. "Told ya."

"_You_ are so horrible. Were you going to let me drown? And suppose my shades got lost." Robin said, smirking.

"Then we'd just get to see your _beautiful_ eyes. And I wasn't going to let you drown. I was coming in after you in three more seconds. See, I knew you were trying to set me up. You almost had Kaldur fooled."

"I suppose I should commend you on sniffing me out."

"You should."

"_Now_ have you learnt not to mess with the girl?" Wally asked.

"No. That's one lesson I'll never learn. Messing with her is just way too fun," Robin said.

"Yeah, it's all fun and games until some Robin gets hurt." Wally crowed at him this time, finally not being the one under attack. I turned towards Megan behind me. "Thank you, Megan. Glad you could pick up my side on this one." She gave a small laugh.

"No problem, Hy. It was fun anyway," she answered. I gave her a high five and we started heading back to where everyone's stuff was gathered on four big beach blankets. I threw Robin his towel and then grabbed mine, drying my skin and then setting it back where it was.

"You've got a piece of seaweed stuck behind your neck," Robin said, going to remove it. He gasped and I looked back at him.

"What's up?"

"What's with that scar behind your shoulder, just off the centre?"

I touched the old scar that was by the spot of muscle that was usually tense, just down from the highest spot on my shoulder.

"Oh, that. Forgot about that." I walked a few steps and sat down and he followed, taking a seat next to me. Everybody else took a seat, almost in a perfect ring, like it was story time. Apparently, they heard the word 'scar' and got interested. I would have chuckled but I couldn't. "I got that the first night I went out on my own about eleven months ago. It wasn't my intention but I consider that the beginning of my streak as a fake superhero. I was walking home from the movie theatre, having walked my best friend home and I noticed this guy who was like in his forties robbing this little old lady and decided to step in. I don't know if I was underestimating him but he was a good fighter. I think he used to be a boxer or something because his moves were a lot like a boxer's. He didn't seem to have any qualms about kicking a teenager's ass and he did. He was carrying a knife and once he'd knocked me on my stomach, I think he was intending to finish the job. I was in a lot of pain and I could barely move.

"He stuck the knife right there and was planning to rip it straight upwards and out of my shoulder—that's why the scar's so long. Then, suddenly, someone came to my rescue and after the guy seemed to be out of the picture, he took the knife out of my back and picked me up. The last thing I remembered was him saying that everything was going to be alright. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Lucky for me, neither of my parents had been on duty and I don't think anyone recognised me because I had a really light wash-out brown colour in my hair from me and Tanya's trip to the salon before we went to the movies. I snuck out as best I could and went straight home. I had to keep it from my parents or else I'd have been in trouble and they would have been worried sick. I still think they don't know about it and I plan to keep it that way as long as I can."

"Maybe _that's_ why you're so scared of knives," Robin offered. "Do you have any idea who saved you?"

"You might be right about that. I think that was when I started not being able to be in the kitchen when my mom was using the knife or being around knives in general. As for who saved me, I barely saw a thing because I was about to go unconscious, but I think it might have been a member of the League."

"And after that, you still went out and kept on trying to save people?" Kaldur asked.

"Sounds pretty reckless to me," Conner added.

"Well, it wasn't an easy decision. I can't remember anything ever hurting so much in my life. It took four weeks to heal. Over those four weeks, I fought a lot with myself. I thought that I couldn't handle things like that, that I wasn't cut out for helping people, that all that time I'd spent learning mixed martial arts had been for nothing because I couldn't even use it to defend myself. But then it occurred to me that whoever had saved me probably wasn't perfect at it at first. It occurred to me that because of me, that lady had been okay. It occurred to me that I wasn't useless. I had all the tools I needed to help people and myself, all I needed was the necessary motivation and some practice. I spent that whole month, finding my motivation and letting that stupid injury heal.

"One afternoon, I noticed there was a guy who waited in hiding after school every day and I decided to investigate. I discovered that that guy was my best friend Tanya's real father, who used to be a boxer and a gym trainer. Her parents had separated in a nasty divorce but he'd heard that she was a having a bit of trouble in school with a guy. He agreed he'd help me with anything if I would just look out for her. I bargained that if he'd help train me for a month, I'd be like Tanya's bodyguard for the rest of middle school. He agreed and I got Tanya out of the sticky situation she'd been in.

"Got my ass kicked a lot when I was being trained. Can't tell you how many days I had to use all the energy I had to drag my sore, pained body home after training. He beat me just enough for me to learn not to keep losing without breaking any bones. Couldn't have asked for a better trainer. By the end of the third week, I was able to floor him without so much as taking a hit. After that, I started really going out at nights, and I just kept getting better and better at it. I still had my fear of knives and that had run me into trouble a few times but I always managed to bail myself out and win. And thus, we come full circle."

"If I was your mom, I'd lock you in your room," Robin said, eyebrows knit together.

"Did it heal okay?" Artemis asked.

"It did but for some reason, it scarred. I usually don't get scars, but I think this one stayed to remind me that what I do is like chasing a moving target. I've got to keep trying and keep training." I gave them a smile. "I have a cool story. Does that mean I can really be considered like I fit into the team?" Kaldur smiled back.

"You really are. I'm actually anticipating having you on our next mission. You will prove quite helpful," he responded.

"Thanks." A comfortable silence floated for a moment and then I turned to Megan. "Megan."

"Yeah?" she replied. I pouted.

"I hate to bother you but I'm hungry." She laughed.

"I think you're reading my mind. I was just wondering if to go get the grill and the burgers." I clasped my hands together.

"Please."

"I'll come with you," Conner said. They headed inside and Robin shook his head.

"Where do you put all of it, woman? I swear, you eat almost like Wally!" he proclaimed. I laughed.

"Are you trying to tell me you aren't hungry?"

"I am but—"

"Artemis?" I cut him off.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty hungry, too. I think it's after midday already." I looked back at Robin.

"What's your point, sidekick?" He shrugged and then threw a handful of sand at me, making sure not to aim for my eyes or my face. I started to brush it off. "'Scuse me, friends, I'm going to drown Robin." I got up and he bolted away, heading towards the water and I ran after him. I could just about hear Kaldur, Artemis and Wally laughing as I was quick on his tail. Who knew it was so easily to feel so comfortable around my new teammates? Who knew they were so quick to accept me? I couldn't have been happier. Except for if just one thing was different. The action of me chasing Robin was ironic but appropriate enough.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hail to my readers. I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your feedback (you should know yourselves). Generally, I like to reply to reviews but since some people disable their private messaging, I can't, so I hereby dedicate this author's note to thanking all of you for your feedback and loyalty. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so much; I'm having just as much fun writing it. Special mention to Ansa88, i88 and alexthegreat123 for the correspondence. You guys make me feel special.**

The goodbye was pretty sad for me because it had been one of those days where you just wished it would never end. I feigned crying on Megan's shoulder and I offered each of them a hug before I left, feeling so much closer to them. Training and normal life would resume tomorrow and I wasn't quite ready to return to reality but I had to. I said my goodbyes and Robin took me home, as always. As soon as I got home, I had a short nap and got ready to go to five o' clock Mass at church with my family after which I changed into my new suit and mask and went to prowl around the neighbourhood for a couple hours. As if the universe knew I was having a perfect day, the neighbourhood was quiet and I was able to return home at ten without having had to fight anyone.

School went along in its usual fashion and I tried to pay attention as best as I could while suffering the after effects of the weekend high. In the middle of Literature class, my phone buzzed in my pocket, vibrating against my thigh, and from my perfect vantage point at the back of the classroom, I checked the message. I didn't know the number.

_What's up? Feeling sore_

_from yesterday? – R0b1n_

I couldn't help but smile. Our teacher turned her back to us, writing on the whiteboard and I texted a quick reply

**Heck no. Are you, sidekick?**

**And shouldn't you be in class?**

_Shouldn't you? And I'm_

_not sore._

**You started it. The**

**only reason I'm bothering to**

**reply is because you started it.**

**Now get off the phone**

**and pay attention.**

_I don't really have to._

_I'm really good at Math._

**Nerd.**

_Jealous?_

**Of you? You make me laugh.**

_Laughter's the best medicine._

"Pst." I turned to my left and saw Tanya looking at me curiously. 'Who's that?' she mouthed. 'A friend from some other school,' I mouthed back. 'Is he cute? Do you like him?' she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Miss Devereaux." Tanya's head snapped forward as the teacher called her name and I just looked down at our Lit novel innocently.

"Yeah, Miss?" she replied innocently.

"Maybe you could read for us? The entire page?" Ms. Cordner asked, expression flat.

"But, _of course_. I love this book, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. That's nice. Just read," Ms. Cordner said. I looked down at the phone and texted a quick reply to Robin.

**True. Got to go. See you**

**after school.**

_Okay. Don't hit anybody._

**Shut up and stop texting**

**in class.**

_Teehee. Later._

I returned the phone to my pocket and with one absent smile, I continued following the book as Tanya read.

I didn't last till lunch. As I walked into the Bio lab and took a seat on the table against the window, where I went most days to stare out the window as I ate while Tanya talked with my input or stories wherever they could fit in, she closed the door and pounced on me, for lack of a less fitting word.

"So, who was that?" she asked.

"Who was what?" I asked, unwrapping my sandwich. Her eyes narrowed.

"Don't play dumb with me, Hy. Text guy." I chuckled.

"Nice nickname."

"Stop avoiding me. Talk."

"Fine. It's actually the guy who gave me my new phone."

"Ooh. Tell me more."

"You remember how I told you my phone got destroyed when I was helping someone out?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we kind of became friends after that."

"Ooh. Friends enough that you guys text during class? What have you been keeping from me?" I shook my head.

"You think everyone has some spicy little secret in their lives. And this was the first time he's ever texted me." Her back shot up and straightened.

"Since you said you two became friends, that must mean that you've been hanging out. Am I right?" Was Tanya always this sharp or was it only where romance was involved?

"Yes."

"Is he cute?" I rolled my eyes.

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm asking if he's cute."

"Yes, but as a prelude to _what_?" She gave me a long look then smirked.

"I think you like him. That's the only reason I can think of for you texting him, during _Lit_ class of all classes, and looking so happy while doing it. I mean, you love Lit class! You always pay attention while I'm filing my nails or something."

"He texted me first and I thought that replying would be common courtesy. And I spent about half of them telling him to stop texting in class. And, can't I smile because I had a good weekend?"

"No. The two might not have anything to do with each other."

"They do, though."

"You spent the weekend with him?"

"I spent the weekend with a _group_ of friends, Tan."

"And was he in said group?"

"Yes."

"And what did you guys do?"

"Watch movies, go to the beach. You know."

"You know what I think—no, I'm sure of?"

"I think you're going to tell me anyway." She nudged me with her foot and I laughed.

"You like him."

"And how, pray tell, have you come to this conclusion?"

"You've been dodging me about him. You never even told me his name." Crap. "Are you going to try to deny it?"

"Lying is a sin." She smiled.

"Is he cute?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell him that you like him?"

"No."

"Why?"

"We're _friends_. He hasn't given any sign that he likes me and I'm not about to make myself look like a complete idiot. Besides, for all we know, this could just be a fleeting crush on someone who gave me a fantastic phone."

"Not likely."

"And why do you say that now?"

"Because, Hyacinth, you're not a petty girl. I believe that something like that could happen to me and I'd come to you to try to help me out of my mess, but not you. You're always protecting me from guys who are no good, guys whom I usually _think_ I like but for the wrong reasons. You, you're deeper that me, Hy. You like _Literature_, for freaking goodness' sake. There's got to be something beyond superficial about this boy that has made you even entertain the idea of liking him. I've actually never seen you crush on a guy, so this is both new and almost very obvious to me. But I approve of him."

"You don't know him."

"I know enough about him to approve. He's not afraid of you so he doesn't go to this school. And he has the common courtesy to replace your phone after you sacrificed it to help him. And do I have to remind you that he got you a _Blackberry_? He's either got more money than he knows what to do with or that's one serious flirt. You're comfortable enough around him to spend a weekend with him." I was about to correct her when she shot me a look to tell me to keep it shut. "He makes you smile. And he makes you feel the kind of anxiety that makes you keep things from your best friend. This is serious, and if he can make you feel like that, he's got to be some guy."

"I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure I should. And I think you're being far too optimistic about this. I'm a little fond of him. It doesn't mean anything will materialise or progress." She pointed her yogurt spoon at me and gave me a serious look.

"Then it's up to you to make him fall for you, isn't it?" I just looked back at her. I didn't know if to say the answer I knew I wanted to give. Lucky for me, she didn't push. She let it go and proceeded to tell me about her ballet recital that was coming up in three weeks.

Tanya and I had different classes last period and she left to head to ballet practice immediately after school so I didn't see her after school. In her absence, her words resonated in my head. What exactly was I supposed to do? For one, I wasn't sure that either of us was really in the position to be in a relationship, far less with each other. It also sounded awfully like trouble that out of all the guys in the group, I had chosen to fall for the one who kept the most secrets—well, besides Artemis. At least we knew what she looked like without a mask. He was a shadow, a mystery, and girls that dared to fall for shadows were practically begging to get hurt.

Given the last person I'd developed a crush for, I could probably have said that I had a bad habit of crushing on the wrong guys—and guys who were my best friends. Jason was a bit of a bad influence even though he was a good friend. And Robin was an unknown even though he was rather dependable. After thinking about this, I realised that thinking was frustrating. After all, wasn't it prudent to fall for your friends whom you knew the best?

Which returned me to the fact that I probably didn't know Robin at all. He flirted with Megan but he hadn't been serious about it. Instead, he let me make a whole romantic arrangement between her and Conner. Who knew what an actual crush on someone would look like? What was I expecting to see? A neon sign? He was a pretty private person; who was to say he wouldn't be very private about something like that?

I could hear his laugh in my head and it occurred to me that perhaps this was getting far more out of control than I wanted it. I continued walking on the sidewalk, barely seeing anything or anyone that I passed and feeling the edges of depression coming on as I was stuck in what I'd made out to be a very bad situation and didn't know how to get out. Perhaps it would pass; I could only hope that it would. Something like this would only lead to me getting very, very hurt and that certainly was not what I wanted. I had this fancy, heroic image for myself and being a depressed and heartbroken girl who had fallen victim to someone as vague as him did not fit into it.

"Hey, Hy! Where are you going?" his voice called. I turned and saw that he was at least fifteen paces behind me. He walked to catch up to me and then we started walking together.

"Oh, Robin. I didn't see you there."

"I know. I watched you walk straight past me. I laughed and you still didn't notice. You looked depressed. What's up?" Should I have thought it funny that he was asking about the problem that he was creating?

"Oh, nothing much. I was just giving some serious thought to something Tanya told me."

"Sounds serious if it could make you look depressed like that."

"It was…pretty serious but that's only if the problem remains as is. It could very well just disappear in a few weeks. Thing is, I can't know until then and I'll be left feeling tense about it until then."

"Want to tell me about it? Maybe I can help." I gave him a half smile. Wouldn't it make life that much easier to just come out and tell him so I didn't have to fight about it internally. Things would not tumble out like a fairy tale after that but my chest would feel a lot less tight, for sure, once I got formally shot down.

"No, thanks. This time it's something that should really stay between me and Tan." He nodded.

"I appreciate your loyalty, even if it's something that worries you."

"Loyalty's a good thing." He could go ahead and think this was about Tanya. I was not about to correct him.

Emerging in my costume _sans_ mask, I came to stand next to my teammates, facing Canary for the sparring and training of the day.

"Hyacinth," she called. I looked up from my shoes which I hadn't even realised I had been staring at. "I want you to go up against Kaldur. Hand to hand." She fiddled with some stuff and the floor lit up.

"Cool!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping. Robin tried stifling his laughter and I just stuck my tongue out at him. "Well _I'm_ sorry if I'm not constantly around rock-your-socks technology." I stepped forward until I was on the opposite end of the arena and took a breath. I zipped my jacket closed and took a stance.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"We'll see." I charged towards him and he got in a position to block with his left and strike with him right. Noting that, I shifted my moves in my head to suit. I made a blow to his head which he blocked with his left as I predicted but then slid my foot to pull his left foot from under him to unbalance him. I succeeded but he got me in the stomach anyway and I took a big step back just as he used his legs to propel him from the lower position with his legs further apart than normal right at me. I just dodged his two punches and returned the punch that has hit me in the stomach with enough force to push him back. What I needed was to get behind him. Strength-wise, he could break me in half. I couldn't take many more hits from him. I had to start going for pressure points just hard enough for the pain to restrict him for only a little while.

I went at him again, making it look at first as if I was getting ready to punch at his face and when he moved his hands to guard the side of his face, I redirected my fist into just two straightened fingers to jab at the point of articulation between his left arm and shoulder. The next hand was poised similarly and went for the spot right below the right side of his rib cage. He groaned in pain as he received my blows and the door indicated that we had a guest which pulled my focus away from Kal and towards the door. His fist ended up in my stomach again and I took three steps back to steady. He was still in some pain so he stayed where he was.

"Focus, Hy," he said. I nodded and made up my mind that this had to end now. I couldn't really take another hit and I was very curious as to who was the "Red Arrow" feller who had just supposedly come through the door.

I went straight for Kal, throwing six consecutive punches to his face and he parried all, according to my strategy. I went for the spots just beneath his ribs again, hitting each spot twice and them pulling his feet from under him which took him to the floor. A holographic label identified him as having failed and I offered him a hand.

"The pain will subside in about six minutes." I told him. He took my hand, got up and we walked back over to the group, which now included a tall guy in red gear with a bow at his back and arrows. I wanted to laugh. Red Arrow kind of sounded like a no-duh kind of name for this guy.

Batman came in just then as we'd reached the rest of the group and came to stand a distance behind Red Arrow.

"Who's this? A new member of your little club?" Red Arrow asked. His tone sounded like pure venom. They actually let this guy into the HQ? I was about to open my mouth to say something that would sound like the beginning of an in-your-face argument when I just closed my mouth back and refined my response a little.

"Depends on who's asking in such a jealous tone," I responded. He scoffed.

"Roy, this is Hyacinth. She's the newest member of the team," Batman said simply. He scoffed again.

"_Hyacinth_?" he asked. I smiled. He did _not_ just make fun of my name.

"Well, aren't you rude for someone whose name is redundant _and_ a knockoff. Why don't you try that to my face again after you go one round with me? _If_ you can look me in the face from the floor. The proper response, sonny boy, is 'It's nice to meet you' even if you don't mean it. It's called manners. Get some." Robin was quick to put a hand on my shoulder even though he looked like he wanted to crow at him like he did when I said something disarmingly mean to Wally.

"Whoa. Calm down there, Hy," he advised. I continued to just look at the idiot in front of me for a few seconds, then took a breath.

"I'm sorry. I just reserve a special kind of hostility for people that make fun of my name." It didn't help that I was still a little tense about that little talk Tan and I had had either.

"Didn't I kinda make fun of your name when we met?" he asked.

"No, you asked if it was like the flower. That wasn't like repeating it in an incredulous and condescending way." Insert glare directed at Roy here. He glared back and I laughed. "You know that's very ineffective with that mask over your eyes."

"Hyacinth," Batman said firmly. I threw my hands up, indicating that I was laying off.

"Sorry. Okay. Backing off now. He's probably here for some important reason or something."

"Correct, _sidekick_. Whose are you, anyway?" Roy asked.

"God's and God's alone, _Happy_. So, what's the deal?"

"Do _not_ call me 'Happy'. I was just bringing a mission to the team."

"The team except you and Robin. I have a special task for the both of you," Batman added.

"There's been some strange activity with some ships that go from Happy Harbour to Puerto Rico and I discovered recently that they've been carrying barrels of radioactive chemicals from Puerto Rico," Roy said.

"What is with all these Spanish areas and criminal stuff?" I mumbled half under my breath. Robin elbowed me and I chuckled.

"I think it would be a good idea if you guys went there to poke around and see if you can find out more about what's been going on there. Then, after the League is better equipped to take action, they will, since they don't seem to let you deal with things like that."

"Either that or you guys are going to end up blowing the place up again," I added. I got some sharp looks from Wally, Kaldur, Conner and, to a much lesser extent, Megan and tried not to laugh. "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to say that out loud." Robin elbowed me harder this time. "Ow."

"I think we should regret telling you about that," Wally said. I shrugged.

"Nah, you had to so I could have an idea about what went on before I came along. But you guys dealt with it so forget about it. That one counts for the plus column." Roy went to the holo-screen, pulled up some files from his…whatever that was in his hand and left them on the screen as he walked away from it. That holographic thingy really was cool. I wondered for a brief second that if I took my _iPod_ and activated the _Bluetooth_ if it would pair and I could play my videos from it. It was something I had to try one day.

"We will check it out. This sounds like it could be dangerous if it is anything like the mission we had in Santa Prisca," Kaldur said.

"Good luck. I'm out," Roy said. His eyes flashed to Megan for a second in a way I wondered if anyone else noticed and then to Artemis and then me in a disdainful way. He headed for the door and I exhaled as the door announced his ID.

"Geez. Does he always act like a little bit—Never mind," I said, correcting myself far later than I should have.

"Yes, he does. As far as I know. The first time he met me, he was all over my case. I think he's bitter about being replaced so quickly," Artemis answered.

"He was Green Arrow's first apprentice? Makes sense why his name is such a bad gimmick. Geez, as he was walking towards the door, I was imagining myself borrowing your bow and planting an arrow right between his—"

"Hyacinth," Kaldur stopped me.

"Right. Sorry. Down, girl. I'll behave." I exhaled. "Told you I have a temper problem."

"Roy's really not that bad, you know. He's just got a very specific sense of things. He was supposed to be part of the team but he wasn't too keen on it," Wally said.

"Well, either he hates girls and is a sexist or your perception of him is coloured by the fact that you guys are friends or something. I'm going to bet he's said a lot insulting things about this team to your faces." They all seemed to take a second and think it over, like when something comes to your mind the second someone says something.

"Well, that is true. He has said some pretty nasty things," Megan confirmed.

"And as if he wasn't a big enough jerk to me, he just states his business, checks you out and then walks. Patience does not grow on trees and I think all of mine just shrivelled up and died. If I even see that guy in a fire fight, I think I might just duck behind him and let them shoot him."

"Wait, what did you say?" Megan asked.

"I'd let him die in a fire fight."

"Before that."

"Oh, I think you're referring to the fact that he was checking you out. Trust me, when you have to watch over a vulnerable best friend, you know what all the looks guys give are and what they mean."

"You guys have a mission to carry out for now. You can discuss this all you want when you return," Batman said sternly, cutting the discussion short. "Robin, I need to talk to you. Hyacinth, you can go sit in the living room and I'll send Robin to get you when I'm through with him." Megan and Artemis looked at me while the other guys headed to the Bioship and I mouthed the words 'be safe' to them.

I couldn't help feeling like a kid put on a time-out but I obeyed without objection and grabbed a juice box from the fridge. I took a few deep breaths and told myself I was being a bitch unnecessarily and that his comment should not have made me so upset. He barely responded at all, proving me to be the less mature and the idiot. I could blame it on the not-so-hot mood I was in, but I knew I couldn't let something that wasn't even really a matter to be mad about make me explode.

So what if I liked Robin even though I wasn't really in what would be considered the proper position to? He made sure I got home, he took me seriously, he was there for me. We were close friends. That was enough, really. He had his reasons for his secrets and I couldn't fault him or myself for that. It was possible that I was very much alone in how I felt and all I had to do was just start getting over it. A part of me wanted to wait and hope that in time he would feel the same way. I'd have to cross that bridge when I had the time. For now, I had a job to do and I needed to teach myself not to let my personal stuff as Hyacinth get in the way of my duties as Cin. If I hadn't really felt like a budding superhero before, I felt it now as I learnt this lesson that I was sure each and every one of them had had to learn the hard way.


	13. Chapter 13

**I was actually planning on posting this chapter on Tuesday (today is Sunday last time I checked) but then it occurred to me that that is a nasty cliff-hanger at the end of chapter 12 and that that would be awfully unkind. Hence, I present you with chapter 13. This one might be a tad bit boring but I like the bonding close to the end. Enjoy, my dears.**

Just as I sat down again, having thrown away my empty juice box, Robin came in.

"You can come back in now," he said.

"Am I in trouble about that outburst?"

"No, but do you want to talk about it?"

"I let my emotions get the best of me way too much and I end up saying things I regret later. I didn't want to look like a rash little girl earlier but, in retrospect, I did. Why should I care what he thinks about my name? And, to be honest, I'm not really sure that that was what I was mad about. He was acting like an immature little girl but I really shouldn't have let that get to me. No, I think I was still a bit upset about what Tan told me and that thing about my name was the straw that broke the camel's back. Next time I see him, I think I'm going to have to apologise." I stood and put a hand on his shoulder, looking him dead in the eyes. "I _really_ don't want to apologise."

"It's okay, but I'm glad you were mature enough to realise that you got a bit out of hand and are willing to take steps to make it right. I'm proud of you." I took my hand off his shoulder.

"Thanks, Rob. You're great help."

"Now come on. Let's go."

We walked into the combat area/foyer and a table was just off of the circle where we sparred. On top of the table was a sheet that was covering a number of things. I wanted to ask what it was, but his face was very straight, almost solemn. The holo-screen and the lights on the floor were off and the place was rather dark. He stayed right behind me and I was worried for a slight second.

"Take the sheet off the table," he instructed.

"Robin, what's this about?"

"Just trust me. Take the sheet off." I gave him a weary look for a long moment before I turned towards the table. Slowly and warily, I reached towards the end of the sheet and in one quick move, I pulled it across the table and onto the floor, regretting it immediately as I did.

I felt the scream building in my throat as the sight of all the various knives and swords on the table registered in my brain. I started to turn, to run in the opposite direction, but Robin's form was in my way and his hands came lightly on my arms to stop me.

"Calm down. You can do this."

"No, I can't. I can't do it. Just let me go. I'm not ready for this yet."

"Hy, we've got to deal with this as soon as possible. You can't let this control you anymore. I'm right here. I won't let you get hurt." I stayed where I was for a moment, scared and fighting with the fact that I didn't want to but I had to face my fear. He was right. I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths and reopened my eyes to look Robin in his, or at least where they should have been.

"Can-can you hold my hand please?" He gave me the tiniest, gentlest smile I'd ever seen him wear.

"Of course. I'm right here for you."

I turned around and he slid his left hand into my right hand. My gloves were off and so were his so I could actually feel the warmth of his just slightly bigger hand in mine. He gave my hand a small squeeze and I let my eyes fall upon the blades again. I winced as the sight hit my eyes but I did not turn away. I forced my eyes to go over each and every one of the twenty-two objects on the table, from hunting knives, to kitchen knives, to shuriken and Japanese swords that were long, short and in-between. An arrow was on the table, too, just for good measure.

As if reading my mind, Robin released my hand to very quickly go to the other side of me and take my other hand. I reached out with my right hand to touch the knife closest to me. The coldness of the object shot from the nerves in my fingers to my brain and I winced, reminded of the sensation of the metal in my back and in my arm much more recently. That had in fact been the origin of the fear. I had spent so much time trying to forget the event altogether, to detach it from my motivation to help people that I had lost for a moment the ability to pinpoint what had made me afraid in the first place. I closed my eyes for a brief second, letting the coldness of the object at my fingertips truly sink in. I reopened them and examined the light glinting off the shiny surfaces of various shades.

"See? You're okay?" Robin said softly. I just looked at him for a second and then moved my hand from the blade closest to me to the shuriken. I went along and touched each and every one of them, running my finger at the side of each of the blades to let the shape and feel of them sink in. Every second I was touching them, I had the compulsion to bolt, to grab Robin's hand tighter and pull him out of there with me, but the warmth of his hand and the truth of his words kept me planted there. I _was_ okay and I _did_ have to deal with it so that I could be a slave to the fear no more.

I let go of his hand, pushing myself ever so much further in trying for myself and for my team and for everyone I knew and loved to relinquish this stupid and crippling fear. Robin took the sword to the furthest left of the table that was only half way out of its sheath and walked over to the right of me where he slowly removed it. The sound was beautiful and disconcerting and I began to feel extremely afraid now that the blade was in someone's hand. He turned back towards me and held the sword towards me, tip down, offering for me to hold it. Slowly, I brought my hand up until my fingers wrapped around the handle. I extended it before me, watching the light move along the blade with the movement until reaching the point. Undeniably, it was a beautiful object, but it was an instrument of violence and war, a thing that separated flesh and cut through bone.

"See? There's no reason to be afraid of them. They can't harm you by themselves and you're not helpless." He came to stand behind me and he put his hand around mine on the sword, the other on my shoulder. He began to move my hand slowly, allowing me to feel what it was like to properly wield and move it. "If you know how to use them, how they work, how they have to be handled, you'll be in a better position to know what to do if ever faced with someone holding one. To use a weapon with a blade means to respect the power in your hands and to understand what it's capable of and what you're capable of. But, just because it makes you more powerful does not mean that you're invincible, or that you have the upper hand over an unarmed opponent."

He let go of my hand, removed the hand from my shoulder and I moved the sword around on my own like he had shown me a few times. I took the sheath from the table where he had rested it and replaced the sword to it, putting it back on the table. I picked up a knife and his hand came around mine again, fixing my grasp and guiding my movements. We continued like this for each of the various things on the table: I would pick it up, he would guide my hands and then he would leave me on my own with it. It felt like an eternity had passed when I put down the last thing. I took one last look at the things on the table before I retrieved the sheet from the floor and covered the table back. I turned to Robin and my throat felt tight from fear and disuse. I had to give myself a minute.

"How about I make us some omlets?" I asked. My voice still sounded shaky and quiet. He smiled.

"Sounds great."

We went to the kitchen and I started digging in the fridge for the various vegetables and the eggs. I started giving everything a little rinse, including the bowl, while Robin sat on the stool on the other side of the counter. I grabbed a knife from the drawer and just a small tendril of the fear crept up my spine as I held it in my hand and gave it a little rinse as well.

"Hy, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, sounding concerned. I turned off the tap and started moving the ingredients to the counter in front of him.

"I'm doing alright." I unloaded the vegetables from the bowl and slowly, I started slicing the tomato. We were both very silent for the rest of the cooking process. He was willing to just sit there and watch me work. He realised that this was all part of me trying to get over the fear. And it was preventing me from being reduced to a teary, shivering mess on the floor in the wake of the fear.

I had to take my time when using the knife. Cutting vegetables quickly was a skill I would have to learn gradually. For now, I was focused on getting comfortable with the object in my hand. I got the butter in the pan, put in the cracked eggs, cheese and vegetables and in about six minutes, both were done and I set them on the counter before him.

"Looks great," he said.

"Thanks."

"Now just to see if it tastes how it looks." I gave him a half-smile and took the seat opposite to him. I said Grace and waited for him to take the first bite. "Wow. You can cook. I'm not dying." He started to laugh and I smiled.

"Shut up. I'm not completely useless you know. I can do just a little bit of cooking. I just couldn't really do preparation with knives. Before now, that is." I took a bite myself and was pleased. He took another bite and so did I and as I brought my eyes up to look at him, I saw that his eyes were fixed on me as well. "Thank you. For being here and everything. I don't think I could have done it had it been anyone but you." He looked away.

"Of course you could have. They just needed to say the right thing. I actually thought you would resist me more."

"I knew you were right. I've always thought that the fear was stupid and that I needed to get over it. Say what you want but I know you being the one has a lot to do with it." I noticed that my words could probably have taken two meanings but I ignored it. Amending the statement would only highlight the possible duplicity of the sentence.

"Well, then, you're welcome." He chuckled. "I guess I should seriously help you out more often since you'll feed me."

"Not likely. This was a special case. Fear is not something that can be expelled in a day, especially when it's a serious phobia like mine. I've got to work more and more at it everyday." He nodded.

"I'm really proud of you, Hy."

"You shouldn't be saying that."

"Why?"

"You're younger than me, for pity's sake! You're making me feel like I'm the noob."

"You are a noob. You're just a slightly older noob." I laughed and he just smiled at me.

"We should eat quickly. They could come back at any minute and if Wally found out I cooked for you, he will never get off my case." He burst into laughter which made me laugh in turn and we stayed there for that long moment, allowing our laughter to ricochet off the walls and echo down the halls.

After the food was gone, I gathered up the dishes and started to wash them. Just like last time, he came beside me with a towel to dry off the dishes and put them away. We were done rather quickly.

"So what now?" I asked him.

"Well, there's also the thing with the bikes…" I exhaled. Couldn't I deal with one dangerous thing at a time?

"Sure. Let's just get rid of that one time, too." He chuckled.

"You don't have to deal with that now, you know. It was just a suggestion."

"Yeah sure, but why not just eliminate it now? Come on. Let's do this before I get lazy and pass out on the couch."

"Right this way."

The bike thing went a lot easier than I had expected, probably because the things were high tech and probably made for littler persons in mind than the Justice League. Naturally, I threw myself off of it twice but I walked away uninjured and learnt what to do and what not to do rather quickly. The most time-consuming part of the whole thing was him instructing me on the various features of it. It was way cool but I really hoped that riding one of those would not become a habitual thing. Call me old-fashioned or just plain old but I preferred riding in the Bioship where I couldn't be smeared on a sidewalk for not paying attention for a brief second, especially if that distraction happened to be the person riding on the bike next to you.

When finally we came back inside, I resigned myself to heading to the couch and lying down, making sure to take my shoes off first.

"What a day," I sighed as I dropped myself onto the very green sofa. Robin sat at the spot above my head.

"I'm sure it was." There was a moment of silence and I allowed my eyes to drift closed. "Hy?"

"Hm?" I asked, eyes still closed.

"I'm really glad you're getting over this phobia of yours. As a friend, I hate to see you look so defenceless like that. It's disconcerting since you're always that strong personality."

"Well, beneath this lovely exterior is a human being, you know." He chuckled. "As a girl, I think I'm prone just a little more to fears than you are. You've spent a long time disciplining yourself to put your best foot forward always. Me, I let some stupid accident get the better of me and allowed it to steal part of my life. I felt really bad for a really long time about not being able to help my mom in the kitchen and stuff. I was pretty useless in Biology class for those eleven months, too. I begged Tan to do all those dissections for me while I faked sick and felt so horrible the whole time. It's sweet of you to be so concerned about me."

"Friends do that. Just like how you worry about Tanya so much." I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"Very true. So thank you."

"Don't mention it. I get enough gratification beating you at video games." I laughed.

"Someday, someday I'll beat you."

"Long way off."

"Probably." It hit me then that we were absolutely alone and that no one was around. Supposedly. "Hey, isn't Red Tornado supposed to be here?"

"Yeah, but he's never around that much. If he was supposed to be here this afternoon, I'm guessing Bats probably asked him to step out for the afternoon so I could help you with the whole phobia thing." I angled my head up a little to look at him.

"I really don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why he's helping me out so much. And it's killing me. I mean, you told me that we're friends and friends help each other. It kind of feels like both of you have been doing the world for me and I can't do a thing for you."

"You cooked for me." I scoffed and settled my head back down comfortably.

"That doesn't really count. I was trying to get over my fear."

"Well, I think it counts, okay? That was a really good omlet."

"Megan's cooking would blow me out of the water."

"Quite true but Megan's not here right now." I laughed.

In any normal movie situation, I would have been accused of wasting valuable time and a precious opportunity. I had Robin alone. The chances of someone walking in was much less than usual. But, the thing was that this was how things were between us and I was very comfortable with that. I was really tired and I had also handled enough stuff today. Trying to deal with three things was pushing it. I didn't want to ruin this nice moment between us by making things awkward or making myself feel anxious again. I was very comfortable right now, comfortable with our friendship, comfortable just lying there and quite comfortable at the moment ignoring the fact that I really liked him and was doing the cliché stewing-in-unrequited-affections thing.

The faint sound of the bay doors opening caught my attention and I sat up to put my shoes back on.

"They're back," Robin announced.

"Well, no duh," I responded. He reached over to elbow me and I chuckled. "Either that or there might be some kind of intruder." Robin and I got up and headed into the training area/foyer just as Conner and the rest of the team walked in. "Hey, people. How was the mission?"

"Successful," Kaldur replied. "And we did not burn down the place this time. I think we are getting better at dealing with reconnaissance missions." I offered him a smile.

"Doesn't change the fact that I fell down and almost busted my head trying to evade their security measures," Wally complained.

"Good thing your head's so hard then. Of course we won't be able to tell if you've got any brains left since we couldn't tell that you had brains before," Artemis said. I burst into laughter as she came towards me and I offered her a high-five.

"See, this is why I like Megan. She's nice to me, saves my life, gives me mouth-to-mouth. Nice girl."

"Yes. Of course the only girl who could stomach you is one from Mars," I added. Robin laughed.

"Dude, I think you should give up and keep quiet. This is one battle you can't win," he advised his friend.

"Dude! Way to be supportive," Wally responded.

"I should also mention that mouth-to-mouth still doesn't count as a kiss so you've still got nothing," I appended. He shrugged and the door announced Red Arrow's entrance once again. I went forward to intercept him.

"What do _you_ want?" he asked, tone less than friendly. I deserved it.

"I would like to apologise for my earlier behaviour. I was having a bad day and I let your comment affect me far more than it should have. But that's still no excuse and I'm sorry." He looked like that was the last thing he'd ever expected to hear.

"Wait, what?"

"I said I'm sorry. Please accept my apology."

"What, did Batman scold you after I left?" This guy was making it awfully hard to be a good person.

"No. I'm apologising for myself out of my own guilt and you're not making it any easier." Further shock on his face.

"Oh. Well, apology accepted."

"Thank you." I turned to my friends. "Well I'm going home now. I've had enough excitement for one day. I think I'll just return to my mom, have a nice shower and go to sleep."

"Wait. What was the mission you and Robin had to go on?" Megan asked. I gave her a half smile.

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay? Need sleep."

"Okay. See ya tomorrow," she replied.

"_Mas tarde, amigos_." I heard a chorused goodbye as I headed out the door. As per usual, I was joined by Robin about a second later. We didn't talk much for the journey, but I made sure to thank him again for everything and say a quick 'see ya tomorrow' before I went into the building. I don't think I had ever fallen asleep faster in my life than when my head had hit that pillow.


	14. Chapter 14

**So today's chapter comes with a story and a shout-out. Shout-out to all those who've been so encouraging with your reviews. As for the story...**

**This chapter almost wasn't. I had lost a piece of this, a piece that was three pages long, and it actually brought tears to my eyes (and I generally don't cry about anything). When I attempted to rewrite the piece from memory, I kept thinking that what I had lost was pure gold and at best the rewrite would be silver. That depressed me and I would not stand for that because for both my effort and my readers, they deserve the best. The loss was almost so severe that I wasn't sure if I could continue. However, thanks to what could only be the grace of God, my own stubbornness and Google, I managed to get back the piece I had lost. I present to you the golden chapter as it was meant to be. I've learn a valuable lesson from this and so the tragedy did indeed serve a purpose if not more than one. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Despite a very odd dream about flying zebras and fried chicken, I woke up feeling something very close to invincibility. It was a new day and a new beginning—the beginning of a me who was less afraid and more capable.

I flew out of bed and hummed my way through the morning chores and grooming. I went into the kitchen, as my mom was chopping onions no less, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Wow. That was some exercise yesterday if you can come in here like this," she commented.

"I still feel a little ounce of fear at seeing it but it isn't enough to stop me anymore or arrest me where I am."

"Ask him what he likes to eat. When he comes for dinner, for what he's done, he deserves a nice feast." I chuckled.

"Agreed. I don't know how to repay him though. I don't know what he likes."

"Look around. Use what you know about him to find something."

"I think I'll have to do that. But he comes for me after school." She stopped chopping and looked at me.

"He does?"

"Yeah. Well, I can't walk to the HQ, you know. It's kind of far." She picked back up the knife and continued working.

"I'd ask you where it is but I think I'd prefer it if you didn't tell me. Ask him to make a detour and then tell him to wait outside while you look around."

"Hm. Viable idea. We'll see how it goes." The shuffling of feet, when I turned to investigate, was accompanied by a sleepy-looking January in pink bunny slippers and PJs to match, blue with pink bunnies on it.

"Good morning everybody," she said.

"Hey, Jan. What's up?"

"Am I seeing correctly? I mean, I know I'm still probably like half asleep but it looks to me like you're in the kitchen when mom is chopping vegetables for dinner tonight. With the knife." I smiled at her.

"You were already asleep when I got home so I couldn't tell you. Yesterday, Batman had Robin help me get over my phobia."

"Wow. Seriously? Wait, it was just you and Robin?"

"Um, yeah."

"You're so lucky it's disgusting."

"Really, January? _I'm_ disgusting? He comes over every so often and you can't even come out and have a decent conversation with him."

"You know I'm shy. He's freaking _Robin_, for goodness' sake. It's not like trying to talk to the captain of the whatever team girls usually go nuts for. Anyway, you know I _Googled_ what the fear if knives is called. It's aichmophobia." I gave her a long look then walked over to her and ruffled her hair.

"You're so bored!" I said, laughing.

"Right you are."

"Hy?" mom asked.

"Yes, mom?"

"Why are you already dressed? Isn't it kind of early?" I shrugged.

"I'm in a good mood and feeling very well rested." She laughed.

"You're such a strange child." She started putting the chopped veggies into various sealed bags and putting them in the fridge. "Oh, well, it's twenty to seven. I should head down to work now." She kissed my forehead and then January's before she headed out of the kitchen and we stepped out of the kitchen to watch her leave. "Bye, kids. See you later. Don't be late for school." We said goodbye at the same time and then the door shut behind her. I turned back to January.

"Want breakfast?" I asked her.

"Sure. Can you make me something for lunch, too, please?"

"Sure thing, kid. Now go brush your hair and stuff," I said, ruffling her hair again. "It's a mess."

"Gee, I wonder whose fault is that." I just laughed and grabbed the knife mom had just washed to go cut some ingredients for our food.

The minute Tanya saw me walk into school, she quickly came to my side and handed me a muffin.

"Homemade?" I asked.

"Yes. My mom says hi. But that's not why I'm here."

"O...kay."

"Did you think about what I told you yesterday?"

"Endlessly. It made me cranky all evening."

"Good. How do you feel now?"

"A little better. I've decided to make peace with it for now by ignoring it and just as soon as I feel better integrated into some things, I'll begin the moving on process."

"What? You're not even going to try to make him fall for you?"

"I can't explain it properly, Tan, but it's just not possible. He and I are kind of in a sketchy situation and a relationship isn't possible in that kind of situation. It's not a smart thing either."

"You're scared."

"That's not what I said."

"But you are scared, yes?" I exhaled.

"Maybe a little, yes."

"Well, that's okay. It's normal to be scared of a relationship, especially with someone you haven't known that long. That's the excitement and interesting part of it, really. Hy, you can't give up so easily just because you think the conditions aren't right. This guy is special, Hy. Don't let go of him. At least try first."

"Now, see, if you know all of this already, why do you always get into the wrong relationships?"

"I'm still learning this stuff, Hy. Every time you save me from one of those, I reflect when I'm alone and learn from my mistakes. I'm not as stubborn as you think, Hy."

"I don't think you're stubborn. Just a little misguided sometimes."

"Life is a learning experience; we learn from our mistakes. I'm just taking care to make all the mistakes I can now so I can gain as much wisdom as I can. And all that wisdom, I shall impart to you who doesn't seem to make quite so many mistakes."

"Oh, I make mistakes alright, and generally the kind that will end with me being in a very bad situation." Like dead. "He's kind of helping me with that."

"And you want to let that go?" I waited for a long moment, thinking. "Well, it wasn't rhetorical. Do you? Do you really?" I exhaled.

"No. I don't."

"Okay. Well, now, decide where you're going to go with it and what you're going to do. The bell's about to ring." It rang just as on cue. "Now think about it some more and we'll talk when we can. I've got some teachers to see during lunch today."

"Tan, what did you do?"

"I kinda sorta got hungry during Miss Mather's Social Studies class and got caught eating a pack of chips. Sue me for being a hungry ballerina. Having practice from three thirty to seven is rough." The halls started to empty. "Now get to class before I get in trouble for something else." I chuckled.

"You're such a delinquent. I'll see you later."

"Okay."

During my solitary lunch break, I proceeded to give some thought to the thing that I had been putting off in an attempt to pay attention in class. It demanded attention and while I was alone, I could think of it freely.

As if I hadn't had enough reasons to, Robin helping me get over my fear was like throwing a barrel of kerosene on each tree of a forest fire. His being there when I was most vulnerable, holding my hand, guiding my movements, keeping my company, his gentle tone, his solid encouragement, they really weren't helping the situation. Doing something like that, in movies, it tended to be the thing that caused the evolution from like to love because it was such a powerful thing to help someone get over their fear.

What he had done, it was not something to be taken lightly. It wasn't like a simple favour. He didn't help me with homework or lend me twenty bucks. He essentially took his time and made me a better version of the person I was. He essentially fought in a war beside me or helped me to learn to walk after my legs had healed from an accident. He empowered me. And empowering someone like that was something that didn't have a price. He had practically given me back a part of my life that I had lost. That was the deepest, truest and most valuable thing that he could do for me. It showed me that he was truly selfless and generous, more than I had already known by how he was dedicated to going out and saving others though his life would be at stake. If that wasn't something to like about someone, then what really was?

But I still had an awful lot of hoops to go through before I was in any position to comfortably allow myself to start the moving on process. That would take lots of time and patience. Among school, team practice and going out at nights, I really didn't have the time to invest the necessary focus and concentration and will to start to let go, especially if I was going to see him just about every day.

Then again, on second thought, shouldn't that have been the ideal environment and reason to start getting over him? Sure, our interactions may have served only to bring me further into liking him, but because I would be constantly around him, because we would have to be teammates and friends and I had already come to the conclusion that he probably couldn't afford the opportunity to even try to be with me, then I should start right away on trying to let go by controlling my thoughts and doing whatever it took and investing what was necessary into moving on.

Tanya's point surfaced. But did I really want to lose someone like that? Someone who was so caring, such a good friend, such a truly good person?

That depended on the definition of 'losing'. By moving on, I was merely freeing myself from the possibility of there being or not being anything more between us. I wouldn't really lose him. He'd still be around. He would still be there for me. We would still have the same kind of relationship. I would insult him. He'd insult me back. We'd laugh it off. I would just be able to not feel that anxiety when our faces were close when I pinned him to the floor at the end of a sparring match, nor would I see the duplicity in various things I said or situations. That wasn't really losing him.

What I would lose was any solid hold I would wish to have on such a wonderful person. He would be free to look at every pretty girl he saw, even date some of them. He'd be free to go out with any of them. His affections and attention would not belong to me. He would just be free of my affections, the affections that he did not know about but that longed to hold him to me and me alone.

I was a maniac for construing a simple crush so deeply. But honestly, that was the true depth of it as I could rationalise. I had broken it down into its various tiers and there were quite a few. I liked him _more_ for his cuteness or how fun he was or for how cool he was. I liked him for more reasons than that he was a hero. His being cute and fun was the icing on the cake. His amiable personality and how easy it was for me to relate to him and just talk to him was what really made me like him. It was also, in retrospect, what had made me like Jason. As my best friend, it was so easy to just be around him, despite some of his more questionable or unappealing traits. His language had been about four times worse than mine and he would opt most days to sit in front of him TV and watch anime with me instead of doing his homework, but he was always there for me, spoke freely with me and I was able to speak freely with him. I kept that crush from him and he moved. I found out far too late that he had felt the same way. Since that had been possible, was I willing to give up despite the fact that something like that could certainly happen again? Was that the real reason why I was choosing to ignore it 'for now' and deal with it later?

I found that I was probably more in a tizzy now than I had been before I had decided to give this deeper thought. Perhaps I needed to sit down and come to a final decision, pick a definite road and stop thinking about all other possibilities. The road that seemed most appealing was to ignore it. The road that looked most right was to start to move on. The road I wished I could take the most was the one where I told him how I felt and got back a similar sentiment.

Being a teenager sure did suck. I wanted to ask my mom what to do but I wasn't sure if telling my mom was the right thing to do. Then again, honestly, my mom probably already knew. She was a sharp woman and sometimes I thought she was a telepath. There were really no disadvantages to telling my mom, only helpful advantages. But it was still a little embarrassing to talk about.

The bell rang and I made my way to my next class. When school ended, I was just a tad bit on edge. Robin would be outside somewhere waiting for me. It was best for me to try not to let it show that I was thinking too much.

As was predictable, Robin's smile greeted me and I could feel my heart ramming into my chest. This was going to be harder than I thought it would be. Damn him for being so darn cute.

"What's up, Hy?" he asked, greeting me as we started to walk together.

"Nothing. I can't wait for the semester to end. Two weeks is far too many." He chuckled.

"Oh, come on. School can't be that bad."

"It usually isn't. I'm just extra tired of it. Or maybe just extra tired, period."

"Maybe if you stopped going out at night—"

"Don't even say it, sidekick. You know I can't do that."

"Hy, I think you're stressing yourself out more than necessary. You won't last like that."

"Wow, Robin. Your words of encouragement are gold."

"Come on, Hy—"

"Can we make a pit stop?"

"What?"

"A pit stop. I have to stop at a store just around the block."

"For what?"

"If I tell you, I'd have to kill you."

"Um, o...kay then." We reached the corner of the street and I headed very quickly to the store to make sure they were even open. Realising that they were, I stopped at the entrance of the store and waited for him to catch up. "So, what—"

"I can't tell you! Did you not just hear me say that?" I exclaimed, hands in the air. He chuckled.

"Alright, alright. Geez. I'll wait here."

"Good. And no peaking inside the store either."

"Ooh, is it something embarrassing?"

"You'll never know because you will stay here and gaze at the road while I'm in there." It was more of a command than a request and he just looked at me, eyebrows lifted and then gave in.

"Alright, fine. But only because I'm such a good friend."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, sidekick."

"Respect is the least I could get if—" I chuckled and walked off into the store, eyes quickly scanning for something to get him. I had been counting on his friendly loyalty to keep him out of the store and I wasn't disappointed. When I looked back, he was staring aimlessly at the sky and then the ground and then shifted his attention to his watch. I had to fight the urge to burst into laughter.

I scanned all of the various towers and racks carefully while trying to be thorough, looking for something that screamed 'Robin' at me, but there was nothing. I felt slightly disheartened when I saw the shopkeeper behind the counter looking at me and I gave him a smile. No matter what kind of strange object I came looking for in this store, I'd either find it or Thomas could tell me where I could. He was a burly fifty-five year old man with a greying beard and a friendly, wrinkled face who was strangely knowledgeable about all sorts of things. I approached the counter and his smile widened infinitesimally.

"Well, if it isn't my odd friend, Hyacinth. What can I help you with today, kid?"

"I'm looking for a present for that guy standing at the door."

"Boyfriend?"

"No."

"The blush on your cheeks tells me you'd like him to be. Never mind that, what exactly are you looking for?"

"I dunno. Something way cool and maybe something high-tech." He laughed a little and I smiled at his laughter.

"I think I might have something like that. They're brand new, in fact. I've got some laser straps." My eyes flitted to the rod just behind him which was holding a number of leather straps on them.

"Those things behind you?"

"Well, your eyes sure are sharp, young lady. Indeedy." He took down one of the straps and put it on the counter.

"What are they for?" He chuckled.

"They're storage units that can hold as much as fifty-four gigabytes. It's like a flash drive except it uses a laser to link it to the PC, not a USB interface."

"Well, definitely _très_ cool and high-tech. But it just looks like a leather bracelet, if you ask me." He gestured for me to hand it over and I did and he pulled on a part of it and it opened out to reveal four small pins and four corresponding holes into which they fit.

"These four pins are where the laser comes out of. Just point the laser anywhere on the system unit and the lasers find and connect to the hard drive and show up just like a flash drive would. After it establishes the location of the hard drive, the laser flashes green for a second then turns back blue or red, depending on which one you buy. After that, you can move it around wherever you want, but the lasers remain trained on the location of the hard drive for data transfer."

"Flash memory, just like a flash drive?"

"Yeah. Upgradable, too. Just change the micro-SD card to whatever size you want." He pulled on another piece of the band about a centimetre away from the pins and a micro-SD reader with a card sticking out of it became visible."

"Yup. _Très_ cool." He laughed. I noticed there was a letter engraved on the leather. "What's the letter for?"

"So it looks like an ordinary leather bracelet. The inside is lined with rubber though and the thing will last longer than the SD card will."

"Where do you _find_ this stuff?"

"I look."

"Do you happen to have one with the letter 'R' on it?"

"I've got the whole alphabet, honey." I nodded.

"Be right back." I ran outside, stood in the doorway and Robin's eyes came to me with a half-amused expression. "Red or blue?"

"Red or blue _what_?"

"Lights. Just pick one. Which do you like better?"

"Why should my preference—"

"Oh, fruitcake, just pick one!"

"Okay, okay. Red."

"Thank you!" I ran back inside and Thomas laughed at the way I was rushing. "I'd like a red laser with an R on it, please. How much?"

"Fifty bucks." I nearly gawked but the thing was high-tech and really cool and fifty dollars was nothing compared to having gotten piece of my life back.

"I'll give you forty-five because I know you that you rip people off." He laughed his hearty laugh.

"You're a little too smart, kid. Forty-five it is, but only because it's you." I beamed a smile up at him and handed over the money as he wrapped it up.

"Thank you, Thomas. You're a lifesaver."

"Okay, kid. Good luck with him." I rolled my eyes and took the bag as he handed it to me. I waved behind me as I rushed out and shoved the plastic back into my book bag.

"Okay. Let's go," I said, giving Robin a smile.

Just as soon as we were at the HQ, I dug in my bag and brought forth his present.

"This is for yesterday. Thank you for being there for me and helping me out. I can't ever really repay you for that but this is a start," I said.

"Hy, you really didn't have to. I was just following orders."

"That may be but you don't understand how you've helped me, how both of you have helped me. I figure buying for your mentor is going to be a bit harder that it was buying for you. I just hope you like it." He started opening it and I started to head to the bathroom to change when his hand on my arm stopped me.

"Stay," he said slowly. I obeyed and not a second later, his present was unwrapped and under his scrutiny. "How cool! I saw these in a magazine like two weeks ago. They're really awesome."

"Glad you like it."

"I more than like it. The thought counts for more, too." I gave him a little half-smile which he mirrored and I wasn't sure if I was standing there waiting for him to say something else or if he was waiting for me to say something else because we were both just standing there, staring at each other. Kaldur emerged and my eyes went to him.

"Oh, good. You're here. I've heard that Batman is on his way here with an assignment. You should both go get suited up," he said.

"Sure thing," I replied. I could feel the adrenaline beginning to make its way through my veins before I even knew where we were going or what we were doing. I was actually going on a mission with my team. It was just another benchmark of my integration. I looked back at Robin and gave him a wider smile. "Come on. I'm sure you're going to need ten minutes just to get into those tights," I teased.

"Oh, you're so full of it," he replied, chuckling as we headed away from the entrance. He nudged me with an elbow and I nudged back. Our friendship was comfortable. Maybe liking from a distance wouldn't be that bad after all. With the way things were going, I wasn't sure if moving on without a flat out rejection would be possible. There was just too much about him to like. Even with his overly tight suit that was only too fun to tease him about. I laughed to myself, probably sounding a bit crazy to anyone who heard me, but I didn't care. I was in a rather happy situation in my life and that was all that mattered.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, fanfictioners. Action up ahead. I'd also like to send a special happy birthday out to wALLeTGiRL. Hope you have a great day, dear, and God bless. And now fo ze stowy...**

Once I was changed, I took a few breaths to contain my enthusiasm and walked into the mission assignment area. I stood next to Robin who elbowed me lightly when I came to stand next to him. Batman began the debriefing so I had to hold my comment about being the bigger person by not retaliating till later.

"Sources have indicated that there is going to be an exchange tonight. Scientist Tony Ridgeway's daughter, Amanda, was kidnapped four days ago. The ransom was one large batch of a very powerful acid and thirty five thousand dollars for her safe return," he started. I scoffed.

"Cheap-ass," I muttered. My teammates' eyes fell on me at the same time and I shrunk back a little. "Sorry."

"You boys have handled the brother of the guy holding the girl hostage," he added. He pulled up a picture of this huge, dark-skinned guy with cane-rowed hair.

"Oh, yeah, I remember him. He was going on about how much it cost to get a suit in his size and stuff," Wally said.

"His brother, his twin no less, seems to be involved in the criminal business as well. Whoever this guy might be working for probably has plans for the acid more than the money and we don't like how flexible the usage of that acid could be. We would like you to get the girl back and prevent the money and the acid from getting into their hands. At all costs, you must protect Doctor Ridgeway and his daughter." He brought up a picture of Ridgeway and Amanda and I immediately felt the anger set in. His daughter couldn't have been older than seven years old. I felt for the trauma she had to have been feeling, the isolation and loneliness of being away from her family and the helplessness of the Doctor.

"What a bastard, going after such a young kid. Where exactly does Ridgeway work?" I asked.

"He works for the Institute of Science And Technology for Happy Harbour University," The Bat replied.

"Professor?"

"Yes."

"Can I break the kidnapper's jaw?" He gave me a long look like if he was trying to determine whether or not I was serious but I exhaled after a second. "Never mind."

"Where exactly is the exchange taking place?" Kaldur asked.

"Star City docks where you intercepted his brother before," Batman answered. I shook my head and Robin chuckled.

"Don't the bad guys ever learn?" Robin asked.

"Hey, they're dumb enough to think they can get away with stuff like this. I think we've asserted that they're beyond brain damaged," I threw in.

"Move out," Batman said. "And, if possible, try not to cause too much of a commotion."

Kaldur started heading towards the Bioship and we all followed in what could possibly be the worst line I'd ever seen in my entire life. I knew it wasn't really meant to be a line but something about the excitement and the vexation was making me just a little bit loopy.

I took my seat in the Bioship for the second time and, again, worked on calming down. At least this time, it was more about excitement than nervousness. The sun was still up so Megan immediately put the Bioship into stealth mode. My phone was in my bag at the base so I couldn't play games on it to pass the time nor was I even sure what was time. Star City was on the other side of the continent. I wondered if the Bioship would be able to get us there before Thursday. It was only when I managed to look outside that I realised _exactly_ how fast we were going. We were flying past the trees and just looking at them made me feel really exhilarated. It was so novice of me, but I felt very excited about a mission and wasn't sure if that enthusiasm would make me overeager and thus act irresponsibly. I needed to remind myself constantly that this was not a field trip; this was mission and a little girl's life was at stake. That served rather well to sober me up, reducing the vast explosion of excitement into just a warm glimmer.

"Do we usually just sit here in silence?" I asked. The eyes came back to me with a curious expression this time.

"What do you mean?" Kaldur asked.

"I mean, is it supposed to be a standard thing that we go from point A to point B in complete silence? No talking, no music, no nothing?" Robin chuckled.

"Does that bother you?" Robin asked.

"It kind of does, sidekick. I can only take silence for so long before I go insane and jump out the window and I'm an overly social person who has problems shutting up. Ugh, I kind of wish I'd brought a deck of cards."

"We could do the whole twenty questions thing, if you want," Wally suggested. "It would be ideal for you and me to get to know each other more in depth."

"As if there's any more to know about you," Robin said.

"Dude!" I chuckled.

"Ain't that the truth," Artemis half-muttered. I laughed at her barb at him and she threw me a half-smile over her shoulder.

"I like the idea, Wally, but I almost agree completely with Rob. I doubt there's anything you could tell me about yourself that I couldn't already guess," I responded. "But let's go anyway. We'll go in a clockwise direction and each person will ask one question which each of us, including the asker, has to answer. I'd advise that we stay away from anything too personal. Robin might tell us that his real name is John Doe or something like that. Passes should be allowed but too many will ruin the game. Megan, you can start."

"Uh, okay," she replied. "Um...give one random fact about yourself. I like...hanging out with my friends."

"Sometimes I miss being in Atlantis with my friends," Kaldur said.

"I can't sleep through the night. I have to get up every few hours to eat," Wally threw in.

"I don't always pay attention in Math class because I'm good at it," Robin added.

"I like being buried in the sand. It's relaxing," Conner gave.

"Blonde is my natural hair colour," Artemis answered.

"I think I like doing the random fact thing better than asking specific questions," I answered.

"That doesn't count," Robin said. "We can keep going like this afterwards but give an actual fact about yourself." I chuckled.

"Okay. Well, I love music a lot and I listen to all kinds with the exception of reggae and dancehall."

"What do you have against reggae?" Robin asked.

"I just don't like it. That's all. Next round!"

"Um...I like to cook in general but I have a special love for baking."

"I cannot handle heat very well."

"I'm not picky about girls." I held back my scoff at Wally's very obvious fact about himself and I could practically see Artemis rolling her eyes.

"Batman and I are very close."

"I have a strong objection to the whole tights and capes thing. No offence."

"Unlike Mr. Science-head over there, I actually do believe that magic exists," Artemis said, gesturing with a thumb at Wally.

"Hey! There's a scientific explanation for everything. Sue me for being a non-believer," Wally rebutted. I resisted the urge to quote the _Charlie The Unicorn_ video and shout 'Shun the non-believer!' at him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Artemis shrugged it off.

"Four out of five times, I prefer watching cartoons and anime to watching shows with real people in it," I admitted.

"And why's that?" Wally asked.

"The answers vary. Either I like to escape from reality or I just can't stand the rubbish on TV. And when all else fails, I'll be reading either comic books, or manga or just an ordinary book. Next round."

"I have nine sisters on Mars."

"I find it entertaining when Wally, Robin and Hy play video games because of all the trash talk they exchange. I think it's better than television in most cases."

"I love family gatherings, especially when there's food involved."

"I have more than one best friend."

"Seriously, dude?" Wally asked.

"What's the matter, Wally? Not feeling special anymore?" I taunted. He stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed.

"I hate losing and not being taken seriously. It makes me really mad."

"Wally annoys me to death." I burst into laughter.

"Hey! Ditto for you, by the way," Wally interjected.

"Like I care," Artemis threw back.

"I don't keep a regular diary," I offered.

"Can I ask what makes it so different?" Megan asked.

"I don't write in prose. I write poems instead." Robin chuckled. "Oh, shut it, sidekick."

"I just never took you for the lyrical type," he replied.

"That's because you're not very good at reading people."

"Generally, I'm really good at reading _you_ though."

"Not this time around."

"You're so violent that poetry just doesn't sound like it suits you." I shook my head.

"Next round."

"You'll have to postpone that next round, Hy," Kaldur responded. "We're here."

The ship made its descent from the now darkening sky, the sun having set somewhere along the way there. All the city lights of Star City were gleaming to life and I stood to admire them for a moment before I brought my focus and attention back to my team.

"Does Doctor Ridgeway know we're supposed to be intercepting the exchange or is he going to be surprised and disoriented and scared enough to get in our way?" Artemis asked.

"Ooh, good question," I said, aware that I sounded just a little spaced out.

"Ridgeway knows that we're going to make an attempt to prevent the exchange but he has warned that if things start to look bad, he's going to do what he can to get his daughter back, even if it means fighting us himself and doing all he that is possible to ensure the exchange is conducted," Kaldur answered.

"Approach?" she asked.

"The shipping crates and building framework here provide very good vantage points for observation and surprise interception. I want you, Artemis, and Robin high up on the framework to be the first to attack. Exercise your discretion and attack only when you think the girl, the acid and the doctor are safe.

"Superboy and Cin, I want both of you flanking them from the right after their first attack. That means you two have got to stay concealed among the crates furthest to our right and be looking out for their first moves. Kid and I will wait at the centre, among the crates there. Miss Martian, I want you to approach from the right with the rest of us after Robin and Artemis' initial moves. We want to be able to surround him and his support so that they can't go anywhere with the girl and so that Ridgeway will have the opportunity to get his daughter and run if things get very messy."

"In that case, wouldn't it be better if you have one of us tagging him? Six of you has to be more than enough to take down his support. He won't bring a lot because he's trying to keep things quiet and having like four cars coming down to this part of the dock is a little more than suspicious," I suggested. His eyes stayed on me for a long moment, calculating and considering before he nodded.

"Yes. I agree. In that case, I would like you to tag Ridgeway. Stay with Superboy until the first attack is made and then secure Ridgeway. Your mission, first and foremost, will be to keep him and his daughter safe and, if possible, keeping the acid out of enemy hands, not helping us. Our first priority is just to get them to safety and keep the acid out of enemy hands, one way or another." I nodded. I could do it. "Now move out. Use your stealth and do not let the enemy see you before you engage. I repeat, do not let them spot you before you engage." Everyone began to split up and I just followed Superboy.

By my estimate, we were waiting in hiding for almost a half an hour and nothing had happened. I tried not to fidget and let my anxiety show but I was failing. I was barely ever a person who could sit still, or hide in silence. I touched my communicator.

"Um, dumb question, are you guys sure we've got the right meeting point?"

"Shh," Conner said. He stayed very still for a second then turned his eyes to me. "They're here."

"Alright. Can you hear the girl?" Kaldur asked.

"She's making a commotion but I think she's gagged. I can't make out anything she's saying," he answered.

"Alright. They'll be coming any minute now. Stay concealed and keep quiet." Conner and I looked at each other and I nodded at him before I turned around and looked onto the main area. The kidnapper dude whose name I didn't even remember walked out with two guys wearing shades and I immediately felt like pressing my communicator and telling Robin 'Oh, look, guys you'd fit in with!' just to bait him. Amanda was nowhere in sight. They were probably keeping her in the car before she tried to run away. I was so tempted to just run off towards the car to make sure she was safe first but I knew that that plan could go terribly wrong and the one we had concocted in the first place was the best.

It wasn't another five minutes before Conner told Kaldur and the rest of the team that another car had approached and that it was probably Ridgeway. Ridgeway made his way to towards the goons but made sure to stand a good three feet away from them, leaving space for Robin and Artemis' attacks and our subsequent ones.

"I've brought what you wanted, Dax. Now give me my daughter," Ridgeway said. His voice sounded like it was pleading.

"Uh-uh. We see the goods first," Dax replied.

"Alright, alright! Here it is," Ridgeway complied. He started opening the suitcase which contained a briefcase and a biohazard container and showed them and Dax gave an ugly smile upon seeing what he wanted.

"I want proof that the acid is in there," Dax demanded. Ridgeway opened the biohazard container and pulled out a much smaller canister about the length of my forearm (which was size 8 in shoe sizes). He opened it though his hands were shaky and for a second, I thought he would drop the whole thing. He got a dropper, put it inside the canister, shutting it back immediately and pulled a long sheet of what looked like steel from the suitcase. He put what looked like barely two drops on the plate and waited for a second before lifting the plate so that Dax—as well as the rest of us—could see the hole that had been made. Dax's grin widened.

"Very nice," he said. He touched his ear. "Bring the girl." Mere second later, another of his goons approached with Amanda, her hands bound behind her back and her mouth gagged so she couldn't make any noise.

"Amanda!" Ridgeway exclaimed. The muffled sound the girl made sounded like she was calling for him, too. The whole thing just pissed me off.

I was about to tell Robin and Artemis that any minute now would be good when an arrow came between them, exploding and pushing both sets of people back. Superboy went in first, attacking Dax directly and I veered to the right of him, going for the guy holding the girl. One foot and fist to his face later and the girl was over my shoulder. She was rather light. I ran to her father and proceeded to drag him by his collar further away from the fight. I gave him a moment to lean against the crates and catch his breath while I untied his daughter. She was awfully cute and my heart went out to her.

"You guys okay?" I asked.

"Sure, but who are ya? I know them but not you," Ridgeway said.

"Call me Cin. I'm the new recruit. Now listen to me, we've got to get you guys out of here. I'm going to make sure you get to the car alright—"

"Behind you!" Ridgeway shouted but before I could turn completely a guy kicked me and I fell on my face. I rolled on my back in a heartbeat, my brain screaming at me that at all costs I had to make sure that we won this one and that it was a total victory. I reach out my foot and threw one well-placed kick right between his legs. He doubled over in agony and I kicked him in the head, knocking him backwards. He just curled into a ball in agony, not bothering to get up.

"That was cool!" Amanda said. I gave her a smile.

"Thanks, kid. We need to get going."

"The canister!" Ridgeway reminded me. I turned and could make it out among the feet, tracing up the closest pair of legs to Wally.

"Kid! Kick me the canister, soccer style!" I yelled towards him. He punched the guy on his hands and kicked it to me and it hit me in the chest before I caught it.

"What about the money?" he asked as we started to run towards the car, his daughter in his arms.

"It's safe in the briefcase. This is really what they want. The money is just them being gluttons." We approached his car but there were two other goons in shades guarding Dax's limo and they had guns and upon seeing us, they started shooting. We ducked behind the car that was half a foot away from us and I waited for a second to catch my breath and to see if I could hear them coming. "Wait here." I rested down the canister.

I made my way along the car to the rear and I rolled my eyes and thanked God that the goons were stupid enough to let Ridgeway park his car right in front of the black limo that the other fellers had come in.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," one of them called. "Or the girl gets it." As quietly as I could, I made it to the back of the limo and the idiots were so stupid that they continued heading forwards the front of Ridgeway's car, neither of them watching their backs. Rounding the rear, I charged for them, pushing one into the other and reaching for their guns as the three of us fell into a pile, I flung them as far behind me as my arms could throw. Now that that was out of the way, I could handle them. I pulled my fist back and punched the guy closer to me in the face and then, using two straightened fingers, went for the crook of the other guy's neck. I got up and started to take a few breaths as the fellers groaned on the floor but they both managed to get up.

"You suck at this, really," I said.

"Who da hell are you? Never seen you here," the one whose pressure point I'd hit asked.

"Well, if you have dikephobia, I'd be your worst nightmare."

"Dike-what? What the hell is that?"

"That, dirtbags, is the fear of justice." I threw one roundhouse kick to his face and punched the other guy in the neck. Both guys flopped to the ground and passed out. I gave myself a micro smile before I ran over to Ridgeway-times-two. "Get in the car and lock the door. I gotta go check on my teammates. If some one of them approaches, drive off, circle the block twice and come back." I touched my ear. "Cin to team, what's the sitch?"

"Dax is the only one left but he's proving—" There was a long lull and I was about to dash straight for them when Kaldur's voice came back. "Neutralised. Bring Ridgeway and his daughter and the acid to us."

"Roger that." I knocked on the glass and he opened the door. "Bring Amanda and the acid and let's rendezvous with the rest of my team.

I picked up the guns first and wondered how I was going to bring these and them all to Kaldur.

"Um, let me help with that," Ridgeway said. Canister in one hand, I gave him the small but long semi-automatic weapons and he held them both in the other hand. I wasn't sure if it was just paranoia that I was a little sceptical about letting him hold those.

"Little help, guys," I said into my comm. Robin came running about six seconds later and he gave me a smile. We grabbed the collars of both the guys and started dragging them towards the rest of them.

"So you survived your first real mission," he said to me.

"That I did. Any injuries?"

"Nah. Just the usual bruises that will come up tomorrow." I chuckled.

"She's really part of your team, Robin?" Ridgeway asked.

"Yeah. She's a newbie but she's competent," Robin replied.

"More than. I can see that," he responded, offering me a smile.

We brought all the scum together, making sure to secure their hands and feet and Kaldur reported back to HQ to let Batman know that the mission had been a success. We were instructed to get Ridgeway home and meet back at base with the canister to give a better report.

"Thank you," Ridgeway said. "Thank you all for getting Amanda back to me. I don't know if I can ever repay you."

"Do not worry about it. All that matters is that both of you are safe and the acid is not in the wrong hands," Kaldur said. "Our orders are to bring it to the League. Batman sends his assurances that after they run some analyses on it, it will be returned to you."

"Fine," he replied, handing it to him.

"The police should be on their way. We should get moving."

"Good idea." I glanced down at Amanda and she smiled at me and gestured for me to lean down to her. I obeyed and was surprised when the girl threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you for saving me and my daddy," she said in my ear.

"You're welcome, sugar. Just be a good girl."

"What's your name?" I fought for a brief second against the compulsion to tell her the name my mother had given to me at Baptism but I knew things like this demanded a bit more finesse now. I gave her a smile as I drew back from her hug and ruffled her hair.

"Just call me Cin. With a 'c'." I looked at Kaldur and he gave me a slight nod.

"Goodnight, Doctor. We must take our leave now." We walked the two to the car and I let Amanda hold my hand the entire way there. She waved vehemently as they drove off and I couldn't help but grin at the warm feeling deep inside my chest.

Robin tugged on the hand at my chest that I hadn't even realised I'd put there and offered me a smile.

"That girl probably really admires you for what you did," he said. "It's intoxicating, isn't it? The recognition and the feeling of achievement."

"Gosh, yes. You guys must feel like this all the time. So exhilarating and encouraging."

"It makes things a little more worthwhile. It's nice to know that people like us encourage people like you to fight the good fight. We never do it for the recognition; it's just a perk that comes with it that makes fighting feel that much more worthwhile." I nodded.

"I can understand that." I remembered the group working together and smiled. "Hey, guys, I can't believe I almost missed the opportunity to see your teamwork but from what I saw, you guys are amazing and I'm really proud to be on your team."

"Well, don't go all sappy on us," Robin teased. I elbowed him lightly and he chuckled when my elbow hit his ribcage.

"The sentiment goes both ways, Cin. Your performance for your first mission was no less than spectacular. We are glad to have you on our team," Kaldur responded. I told myself if I didn't stop smiling soon, my cheeks would cramp. Was it wrong in the midst of the mess and violence that I was happy beyond words?

"Speaking of which," Megan began, "you never told me what happened yesterday. The mission you and Robin had to go on."

"Oh, that. I forgot. Well," I replied as we got onto the ship and we took our seats, "we've got a long ride so I can tell you. And let me just start off by saying Robin's pretty handy...you know, for a sidekick." Robin protested and I just laughed. Yes, all was well and good. There was nothing wrong with being happy with how things were.


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, fanfictioners, before you shoot me, let me just say that I have a really good reason for using the quotation that I used. It fit in so well with the story and I as a writer and a person really respect her for the music she writes and what she reflects. She doesn't appeal to everyone but hey, that's alright. Just as long as people don't let their dislike of her colour this chapter because of the use of her quotation.**

**Who am I talking about? You'll find out when you read the chapter.**

"So, you're over it now? Like completely?" Artemis asked as we got off of the ship.

"Not completely but I'm getting there," I answered.

"Wow. Some mission," Megan remarked.

"So why do you get to be alone with Hy? Why didn't he ask me?" I heard Wally ask Robin.

"Because, she's comfortable with me. We're already pretty close friends and I wouldn't try to hit on her half the time we were alone," Robin answered, the smile clear in his voice.

"I wouldn't have—Yeah, you're right. But you totally could have scored points for yourself when you were alone with her," Wally went on. Robin just looked at him and Wally shrugged and then walked away.

My eyes remained trained on Robin, trying to spot any evidence that what Wally said might have given him any ideas or wrangled some kind of telling reaction from him but, for one, he wasn't facing me and nothing seemed up. He walked out of the room soon after and I was helpless to stop the sigh that escaped. Sure, I wasn't doing anything about it, but this being on the crush island by myself thing was pretty rough.

Only the shuffle of feet reminded me that I had company. I turned back to Artemis and Megan and gave them a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. I have an eavesdropping thing," I blurted.

"Oh, I don't think that's the issue here," Artemis said.

"Issue?" Megan asked.

"You can't tell me you didn't just see that?" Artemis asked Megan.

"Saw what? Her staring straight at Wally and Robin for a really long time?"

"And the sigh that followed when Robin left."

"Hy...do you like him?" Megan asked.

"Depends on which 'him' you're talking about?" I responded.

"Robin," Megan and Artemis said firmly. I sighed. I really needed to stop being so transparent.

"I really hate it that you people can see that so easily," I confessed.

"That's great. Why don't you ask him out?" Megan asked, smiling and looking rather excited. I shook my head.

"Things aren't that simple, Meg. He's my best friend and there's nothing about him that tells me I won't be making a fool of myself by telling him."

"Why would that be making a fool of yourself? If he doesn't feel the same way, then he just doesn't," Artemis said.

"I get where you're going with this Artemis, really, I do, but I'm not sure if that's something that I can just shrug off. Suppose things turn awkward after I tell him. Then, bam, there goes our friendship and I really like being friends with him."

"I really don't think Robin's that kind of guy, Hy," Megan said.

"I know, I know. We mightn't think so. But he's so secretive about things that I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that I barely knew him at all."

"Look, Hy, from the sound of it, he's done a lot for you and I think it's great that you like him. I think you should still give it a chance though. You can't let the fear of striking out prevent you from playing the game," Artemis said.

"Funny. Tanya told me the same thing."

"Well, exactly. It would pay to listen to us," she responded.

"I know. I will. In due time. I'm just giving myself some space to get comfy with it and to make sure I don't just like him _because_ he's been so helpful and it isn't a fleeting thing."

"Once you do eventually make a move. Guys are dumb when it comes to these things." I laughed.

"Don't I know it."

"We're rooting for you, Hy," Megan said, smiling. I smiled back at her.

"Thanks, guys. I'm rooting for both of you, too."

"Both of us?" Artemis asked. I just laughed.

"Yup. Got to go change." And with not another word, I went towards my bag to switch clothes.

I ended up alone with the person in question when I was done changing and noticed that he too was out of the tights and cape. He was just standing in the living room, waiting for me. Everyone else was probably off somewhere else. Either that or this was a set up, courtesy of the two other ladies on my team. I brushed the thought aside, marking it as ridiculous. Robin always made sure I got home okay. It was just our 'thing'.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I'm always ready to go home. Unless I did something wrong and dad's at home. He's a nice guy but when he gets upset about something, his lectures make you feel scared, guilty and like you ripped out his heart all at once."

"Sounds like he's a good dad."

"Maybe you'll be lucky enough to meet him soon. My mom probably misses seeing you."

"Would she?"

"Yes, of course. She thinks you're great, besides the fact that you kick ass."

"I'm pretty fond of her myself." I gave him a half-smile.

"She'd love to hear you say that."

"You can tell her for me."

"Nah. She needs to hear you say it."

"Maybe I'll come up and see her tonight."

"I'm driving."

"The bike?"

"Yup."

"Holy crap, I'm going to die."

"I don't think I'll be just as crazy as you are."

"And I think you'll be worse." I shrugged.

"Matter of opinion. We'll see."

Honestly, it isn't that hard to sit on a bike with the person you like behind you and his arms wrapped _very_ securely around your waist. That is, when the bike is in motion. When you arrive at your destination, on the other hand, and it hasn't yet registered to them that the bike is no longer in motion and you really feel them clutching onto you, that tends to make you feel slightly unstable.

"Robin. We're no longer moving anymore," I said, trying to work on how calm my voice sounded. Generally, it would have been very normal for us to be normal friends in a moment like this with barely any interruption by my stupid, pesky feelings getting in the way, but I had not too long ago recounted how he'd helped me get back a part of my life and talked about said feelings with Artemis and Megan so it was fresh in my mind and floating around in a way that could prove tragic if I didn't reassert control over things. I just had to stop focusing on how cool he was or how infectious and carefree his smile was or how absolutely alluring he looked with his windblown hair or how good looking he was overall...

It occurred to me that if I had time to spot all of that after he'd let go and taken off his helmet that I had been staring at him too long.

"Come on. Let's go," I said. I turned and started heading into the building ahead of him. We started walking up the stairs in silence and I gave it the brief thought that that was weird for us but let it go. Sometimes, there just had to be silence. Sometimes, there just had to be thought. Not everyone was half as chatty as I was.

"Hey, Hy?" I looked over at him. "Are you okay? Really?"

"Fine. Why?"

"You're a bit quiet."

"So I can't be quiet?"

"Generally, I'd scramble to say yes or that that was not what I meant but, honestly, since it's you, then no, you can't. Usually, I have trouble enough getting you to shut up so I can say something." Perhaps I should have been insulted. The half-smile on his face and the fact that things were so cool between us—and the fact that he was quite right—made it funny instead and I just laughed. "See, that's better." I just kept my eyes on him for a moment and gave him back a half-smile.

"Hey, Rob, when you were talking about having more than one best friend, am I included as one of those?"

"Do you even have to ask?" I scoffed.

"Yes. One thing you and The Batman share is mystery. Sometimes, I just don't know how to make heads or tails of you. The only exception is that I _never_ know what to make of him. I think I get you just a little bit more."

"You learn to understand him in his own way. You can't judge him by normal standards. If you do, he seems cold and disinterested and a little scary."

"A little?"

"Okay, a lot scary. But he's really not that way at all. He's just very...careful...with everything. He stumps me sometimes, too, but he's really not a bad guy. He just prefers to stay in the shadows. You should feel differently about him though. He came out of the light a little bit for you. He brought you to us and he's letting Canary help you hone your skills. You've seen a side of him that few others have. I can't figure out that one but I think it might have more to do with than the fact that our team could always use more players."

"Dangerous game though. You never answered my question."

We stopped in front of the door and just stood there, looking at each other for a long moment. Sometimes, you needed people to say things so that it really hit home. Sometimes, actions spoke louder than words but they weren't specific enough in their meaning. He put a hand on my arm.

"Yes, Hy. You are. You're my best friend." I smiled and knocked on the door.

"Mom, it's me. I'm home." The door opened soon enough and January appeared on the other side of the door.

"Oh, hey," she said.

"Hey, January," Robin said, offering her a smile. Dad came out unexpectedly.

"January, I've told you that you shouldn't answer the door by yourself. You can't reach the peep hole yet and it's dangerous to open doors if you're not sure who's there," he said to her, voice modulating in worry and frustration.

"Sorry, dad," she replied. It took dad an extra three seconds to realise that it wasn't just Jani and I, but we also had a guest.

"Oh. Who's this?" he asked in his I'm-trying-to-hide-my-embarrassment voice. I chuckled.

"Hey, I'm Robin," he introduced himself, offering a hand as he stepped forward towards my dad. It was just a little bit funny how much my dad dwarfed him—dad was six foot six—but Robin was younger than me and would probably shoot up in a few years. I was a little bit shocked how Robin hadn't hesitated a second. Most people guys were overwhelmed by my dad's height and broad build at first. Then again, it was probably part of Robin's job description to either not get intimidated based on size or hide it _very_ well.

"Sheridan Quinteros. Nice to meet you, son," dad replied, offering his hand back. Dad was so cute when he was surprised. They shook hands and his eyes remained focused on Robin's face for a second.

"Yes, dad, he's _the_ Robin, of Dynamic Duo fame," I said, reading it straight off the look on his face. His eyes flicked to me.

"You're hanging around your mother too much. You're starting to turn into a mind reader like her," he said. I chuckled.

"Doubtful. You just wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Hy gets that from you then," Robin said. My dad smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess she does. I heard what you did for her yesterday. You're a good kid, Robin." There was a knock at the door. I turned.

"Honey, it's me. I'm back from the store," mom's voice called. I rushed to the door and opened it, taking one of the three bags she managed to be balancing in her arms and taking it to the kitchen for her. My dad sighed, looked up at the ceiling and threw his hands up.

"No one ever listens when I say look to see who it is first," he muttered.

"That's because they're your stubborn children, dear," mom replied. January disappeared again and when mom came back out of the kitchen and she smiled at Robin, going to give him a hug. "Hi, dear. It's been a while. Can you stay for dinner tonight?"

"Hey, Mrs. Quinteros. I don't think so. I haven't asked my guardian yet and I think I need to report to my superior about the mission this evening."

"Mission?" mom asked.

"Hy went on her first official mission today with us. She made us proud." Both of my parents gave the same kind of smile and I wanted to roll my eyes at just how strange it was that parents would be pleased about their daughter running around and kicking ass. But I already knew my whole family was a little strange. I shrugged.

"I'd ask but I think I'd rather you didn't tell me. What's your favourite thing to eat, Robin, dear?" mom said.

"Uh, I'm not picky. But if I had to choose, I'd say lasagne."

"It is done. When you come to dinner, I'll make lasagne. Just tell Hy when you prefer to come over."

"Cool." His head turned slightly and I figured he was looking at the clock as it read ten o' clock. "Well, I should get going now."

"It was nice meeting you, Robin," dad said. "It'll be nice to have you for dinner...in a non-cannibalistic way." Robin laughed.

"Nice meeting you, too. Bye, January." He waved just as she was coming from down the hall and then turned and headed to the door. He opened it and then stopped. "Do you have any embarrassing baby pictures of Hy, by the way?" I pushed him out the door, closing it behind me and we could hear my dad's laughter.

"You're so funny," I said sarcastically as we started down the stairs again.

"And you never indicated to me whether or not I was _your_ best friend. Your dad is pretty cool, by the way, and your mom is just darling, and that's an adjective I wasn't sure I'd ever use in life."

"Do you even have to ask?" I responded.

"Sometimes it's better to hear it so there's no confusion, kind of like when you like someone and you think they like you back but you're not sure so you'd like them to tell you, just to be safe." Irony, thou art cruel. I tried not to laugh at it.

"Well, sidekick, let there be no confusion. You are my best friend, too, and I can't tell you how much in particular I appreciate yesterday."

"I already told you that I was just following orders."

"Maybe, but you don't seem to understand exactly what you did for me yesterday. You're fearless. You won't know the merit of having someone help you leave your fear behind." He stopped and I did the same, just looking him in the face.

"Someone once said, 'To me, 'fearless' is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.' Hy, I have fears, too. I just don't express them so much and I've learnt that I can't let them slow me down because what I do is too important." I snickered.

"Well, where'd you hear that? Who said it?"

"Don't ask how I know this, but it was _Taylor Swift_." Now I really wanted to laugh.

"Never thought you the lyrical type either, sidekick."

"I'm not. I just happened to find that on her website and it stuck with me. She's right, I guess. It mightn't make complete sense thinking about the word and her meaning, but the concept makes a heck of a lot of sense."

"Maybe I'll look it up. She is right. But then that still makes you fearless since you don't let your fears and doubts weigh you down like I did." He thought for a second and started walking again so I joined him.

"Maybe." We came to the end of the stairs and he stayed on the last step when I came off. He put his hand to my head and ruffled my hair, quite like what I had done to him a few times before. I wanted to be fearless, to tell him exactly how I felt in that moment but then he pulled his hand back and started towards the door.

"See you tomorrow, Hy." I turned.

"Yeah. Tomorrow." He went through the door and I knew the chance was gone. I went for the mail and it was several seconds later that I heard the bike roar to life and then another couple seconds before he actually drove away. I sighed. I was a little less than fearless. I'd be fearless when I was ready and right about now, I wasn't ready for that.

**It fit, didn't it?**

**The URL for the full quotation is http:/ swift .com/ music#/ fearless (remove the spaces). But the full thing will be in the next chapter because I'm just not done with it yet.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Long chapter ahead. Can't say for sure whether or not it's a good one. Credit Taylor Swift's website for the following piece in italics.**

_FEARLESS: STORY_

_This album is called "FEARLESS," and I guess I'd like to clarify why we chose that as the title. To me, "FEARLESS" is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, FEARLESS is having fears. FEARLESS is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, FEARLESS is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. FEARLESS is falling madly in love again, even though you've been hurt before. FEARLESS is walking into your freshmen year of high school at fifteen. FEARLESS is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again … even though every time you've tried before, you've lost. It's FEARLESS to have that someday things will change. FEARLESS is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can't breathe without them. I think it's FEARLESS to fall for your best friend, even though he's in love with someone else. And when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they'll never stop doing, I think it's FEARLESS to stop believing them. It's FEARLESS to say, "you're NOT sorry", and walk away. I think loving someone despite what people think is FEARLESS. I think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is FEARLESS. Letting go is FEARLESS. Then, moving on and being alright … That's FEARLESS too. But no matter what love throws at you, you have to believe in it. You have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after. That's why I write these songs. Because I think love is FEARLESS._

I finished reading the paragraph over for the fourth time and couldn't help but feeling like this paragraph was speaking to me, especially the part about falling for your best friend. I wasn't sure if he had someone he liked but it was still powerful, what she was saying. I rather liked _Taylor Swift's_ music but I'd never before taken the time to go through all her songs or her website. I made up my mind that I'd go buy her albums—all of them—as soon as was possible.

The next day, I didn't get to see Tanya much. She came briefly to be with me at lunch but then skittered off, needing to go see someone about something. I briefly considered going with her but by the time I was about to ask if she wanted company, she was out the door already. I shrugged and just sat alone, thinking about things. Everything and everyone in the universe seemed to be telling me to go for it. But my own self was telling me that I needed just a little bit more time.

It was decided that I would make a move at some point but I trusted myself and the Higher Power to know when that point was. It wasn't now. It wasn't tomorrow. If he said it first, that would certainly be the point. But seeing as that possibility was an uncertainty...

"Fearless, huh?" I said to myself.

After school, Robin was there as always and things started off with training at the HQ as usual but then Batman appeared on the holo-screen with a mission. It was a simple matter of ensuring the acid canister we recovered yesterday was returned to the doctor at the University. It was a rather quiet mission, carried out with not a bump and Doctor Ridgeway was happy to see us. I wasn't generally expected home before ten so I went straight from training out into the city. Things seemed pretty quiet but I knew things could always change in a heartbeat.

I was moving from one building to another when my foot caught on the ledge of the building I was on, propelling me into the alleyway rather than across the space. My mind was still running on various things so the panic didn't hit me immediately. But not three seconds after I had begun plummeting, an arm came around my torso and I was aware of a person holding me and propelling me upwards with them. We landed on the building I had just tried to leap across from and when I turned to see who had saved me this time, there was no one there. I stared at the nothing that was behind me for a moment but then took a few steps forward and rested my elbows on the wall in front of me to try to catch my breath. I really needed to get my head back in the game. All this thinking was dangerous.

The hand that came onto my shoulder didn't startle me or throw my reflexes into hyper-drive like they should have. I turned to see Robin there looking at me with a careful, blank expression on his face.

"What's going on, Hy? Something's up," he said, his voice concerned and really serious. It was so crazy that he was so easy to talk to, he knew me so well and he was concerned about me and the reason for his concern, the reason to talk, was him. We stood there in silence for a moment and his gaze was unrelenting.

"Thank you for saving me. Again. Seems like you're always there when I really need someone to save me."

"That's what I'm here for. To save people. And something's really bothering you so talk to me." I gave him a long look, almost as if I was looking for the answer in his eyes, or at least where they should have been.

"Sit with me?" I requested. He nodded.

I hugged my knees to myself and looked straight ahead for a long moment. My eyes avoided the boy next to me at all costs.

"Hy—" he began in this disapproving tone before I cut him off.

"My mind is so confused. I have a million thoughts floating around. I keep thinking about my parents and my sister and my friends, about our friendship and how strange it is, about how I've suddenly integrated into a society I used to only dream about, about the new group of friends I've made, about how things are going, about things that might happen, about everything I could possibly think about. But then there's this one thing that makes my life really hard, this thing that trumps all other thoughts, that returns them to the recesses of my mind and takes over. And when that thought takes over, all else gets blocked out and I become a complete zombie because it's so serious. But it's not serious. It just manifests itself as serious so it takes over my whole head."

"It's a person, isn't it?" I turned my head and looked at him.

"Yeah. You get it, don't you?"

"I do." He didn't look back at me, he just looked at the floor. It was the look of someone who was thinking about someone when they said something. So there was someone. _Stab_. It hit my heart directly. I looked straight ahead again.

"Sometimes," I began, "sometimes heroines need heroes. I'm no heroine but I certainly need a hero. So could you save me again? Give me some of that fantastic Robin wisdom that'll save my life?" I wasn't sure if I was asking for advice on how to move my life along or how to clear my mind and focus on what was really important again, like trying to stay alive. I just needed him to tell me something I could focus on, something that would help. Anything.

"I don't know what to tell you, Hy. I'm pretty lost, too." I turned back to him and his face looked worried and sad. It was tearing me apart to see him look so unsure and so miserable. I was so used to seeing Robin look confident and carefree.

Judgement could come nowhere near this moment. There was no good judgement or bad judgement. There was just my best friend whom I cared about more than was usual for friends and he was in some form of personal agony. Against what should have been my better judgement, the judgement that I would not allow to exist in this moment, I put my arms around his shoulders and rested my head on his shoulder as we both just didn't look at each other, but just stared straight ahead.

"At least we're lost together, Rob. At least we've got each other." _Even if I wanted you to be more than my best friend, just having you around was important to me. _Those were the words I could only think and not say. Because his heart belonged to someone else and mine belonged to him without him even being aware of it. That left me heartless and him with a heart he wasn't even aware was there. Did that sound too deep for a simple crush? Probably. But was this just a simple crush? No, this was a bit more than that. It had become more. And I had just realised it.

Both his hands came up to hold the arm that was below his chin and he rested his head gently against mine. Perhaps I was stealing a moment that she should have been experiencing but I didn't care. I'd steal this one moment, I'd comfort him while she wasn't there to do it, when she was creating his agony and I'd be there for him when he wasn't mine. In all those books, all those movies, this was the definition of true love. When you were able to stay and be there for the person you loved when they loved someone else, when you were their support, even when it killed you, that was true love. And my crush, my extremely strong feelings for Robin, my best friend, I thought that that could be put in the same category, though under its different name.

I was expecting the next day to be awkward. I was expecting to feel a festering pain in my chest when I woke up. I was expecting tears to put me to sleep. But Robin met me after school with his carefree smile and I smiled back at him. No, we were just closer friends now. Sure, it hurt to know that he had someone else, but I would live. The only thing I could do was pray that he'd be happy. It wasn't too late for me yet but I wasn't going to confuse him by putting my feelings into the mix. He was fighting his own battles. He just needed to know I was there for him.

"Hey," I said as we started walking.

"Hey. How ya feeling today?" he asked.

"Fearless. You?"

"Yeah, pretty fearless. Thanks for being there for me."

"That's what best friends are for, you know, besides embarrassing you in front of your crush." He laughed. "In any case, it's the least I could do after all you've done for me. I'll always be here for you, even if it's like midnight or something. Just don't expect me to answer the phone after one a.m. I value sleep."

"Got it."

"Want to get something to eat before we go to HQ? I know this place that makes the best funnel cakes in life."

"Uh, I think maybe we should just get to base."

"Oh, come on. A half an hour detour." I grabbed his hand and started running for the next two and a half blocks until we reached the cafe. "Hey, Julianne," I greeted the girl behind the counter. The place was uncharacteristically empty.

"Hey, Hyacinth. Who's your friend?" she replied.

"His name is Robin. I'm bringing him to give him a serving of cheer-up."

"He blind?" she asked. I laughed.

"Little bit," I joked.

"I am not!" he protested. She laughed.

"What can I get ya?" she asked.

"One plate of funnel cakes, please."

"Nothing for you?" she asked.

"We're sharing. We have to go soon." She smiled.

"Alright, honey." She disappeared into the back for a moment and I just smiled at him.

"Trust me, you'll thank me for this," I said to him.

"Nothing like sugar to make you feel all happy inside, right?"

"Exactly."

"Your mind seems a lot clearer today."

"It is. I guess I just needed to spill a little bit. After a few more thoughts, things started getting really calm. I guess my mind was tossing and turning trying to decipher what was going on."

"And you figured it out?"

"Yup. How about you?"

"I guess talking to you just helped me find new ground to stand on."

"Are you going to make a move?"

"I'm trying to figure out the best course of action, actually." I laughed.

"It's not a battle plan, you know. But I guess it can feel like that. Can't advise you on that one. I'd tell you to listen to your heart and just go with it, but that's not very good advice because it really doesn't tell you what exactly to do." He chuckled and nodded.

"Complex. Well, it's up to us to make things work. You know, feel the aster." I laughed.

"Very true. Here's to feeling the aster."

"To feeling the aster." Julianne came through the door with the plate and her husband, John, brought two glasses of what looked like root beer.

"Hey," John said.

"Hey," I responded. He didn't stick around and they both returned to the back as soon as they'd given us the food and drinks.

"Should we do over that toast now that we have drinks?" he asked.

"Yeah." The glasses made a soft clinking as they touched and I took one of the forks, cut a piece of the big funnel cake, covered in caramel and whipped cream and offered it to him. After a second of staring at it, he ate it and I studied his face as he chewed and then swallowed. "Well?" I asked a few seconds after he swallowed and hadn't said anything.

"I feel an addiction coming on." I smiled.

"It has that effect, yes." I handed him the fork, took up the other one and we polished off the funnel cake in two minutes flat.

Julianne must have been watching because she emerged from the back just as we drained the last of the root beer and placed the glasses back to the table. I handed her a twenty dollar bill as we stood.

"Thanks, Julianne. Keep the change," I said.

"No, problem, sweetie. See you around." Robin gave her a smile and started out before me. Maybe the sugar put him in a better mood than I had anticipated. He let me drive the bike to base.

When we walked in, Batman was already there and the team was beginning to amass. We ran off to get costumed and both miraculously came back in three minutes. Batman neither indicated impatience or irritation.

"We got a tip off that the western end of the Ivy Town docks has a bomb attached to it somewhere. We think it might be a decoy so we would like this team to search the dock and diffuse the bomb, if necessary. If there seems to be no danger, we would like you to call it in. We'll have to investigate the source of the tip if it turns out to be a dud," The Dark Knight said.

"Do you have any idea who would be trying to mislead the League?" Conner asked.

"Just about _every_ criminal running around," Wally said, giving him an isn't-that-obvious look. I smacked him in the back of his head.

"Well, no shit, Sherlock. What he means is do they have any specific idea who might be orchestrating some elaborate plan," I extrapolated.

"She hit me!" he griped.

"And she'll hit you a lot harder if you don't can it," Artemis said.

"That's what I meant," Conner said. I offered him a smile which he returned.

"We think that a particular mob in the area has gotten some new recruits. It isn't clear whether this is some elaborate initiation ritual or not. As usual, try to keep things as quiet as possible. With regards to the last two missions, I think this group is getting better at what it does. Now move out."

Everyone started heading for the Bioship but I just stayed where I was.

"Yes?" he asked, his back still to me.

"I just wanted to thank you again for all that you've been doing for me," I said.

"I'd like to commend you for your work on the two previous missions, Cin. I hear you've been more than a valuable asset to the team."

"I'm trying my best."

"Good work."

"I don't understand why though."

"Why what?"

"Why you've been helping me so much. I'm beyond grateful, trust me, you'll never know the extent to which I am grateful, but you're not the kind of guy to just randomly bring people into all of this, especially since you're someone who values the secrecy of the group. I can't think of a single reason why and I was hoping you could trust me enough to tell me. You've deemed me worthy to work alongside all these fantastic people, your protégé included. Maybe you could stretch that trust a little just to tell me?"

"Why is it so important?"

"Because it makes me so confused and I don't like being confused. Because it will keep me wondering until I'm totally frustrated. I know why Robin is helping me out so much but you, I haven't the foggiest. And in particular with this sort of business, favours come with a price. I want to know what price I'm paying and why I'm paying it."

"You could pay the price with your life for dealing in things like this."

"Yeah, but I didn't have to be a part of this group to risk my life. I was risking it anyway."

"Perhaps I was just repaying you for capturing the criminal Robin and I were supposed to be handling. Twice."

"No, the repayment for that was the phone. Let's just skip the rest of the made up excuses and get to the real one, why don't we? I think we both know I'm not half as stupid as I look." There was barely a few seconds' silence.

"I'm not sure why. Something about your talent and your drive just made me think you'd be a valuable asset to this team and it would be a waste of your talent if you died biting off more than you could chew."

"You're trying to tell me you just didn't want to see me die so you lured me here to try to keep me safe?"

"How did you get that from what I just said?"

"It's the same thing."

"Sure. That and the fact that you reminded me of Robin so much."

"Oh. I think I get it now. You saw a lot of Robin in me and that protective instinct you have for him went off when you met me. The same way you wouldn't like to see him get seriously hurt is that same way you're trying to keep me alive and well. Robin did mention you and him are really close."

"How you derive these meanings from people's statements is beyond me."

"And that's just an elaborate way of saying 'you got it, girly'."

"What did he tell you was his reason?"

"Oddly enough, he said pretty much the same thing, that I reminded him of himself and he just felt compelled to help me out. It's that plus the fact that we get along so well so it's also a matter of friends helping friends."

"Interesting."

"You sound utterly bored by it but I'm sure you've already gotten him figured out. Thanks again. I'll send what I have to with him when I get it." He started to turn but I started running towards the helipad before he completely turned. I was going to get the third degree for keeping them back but it was a necessary conversation. I felt pretty special. Getting him a present would be harder than trying to stay awake for no real reason when you're tired.

The trip there lasted for about fifteen minutes and I ended up trying to think about what to get him and staring out the window the whole time. We got off the ship and Kaldur assigned us to groups to search various parts of the pier: Conner and Megan were handling to western half, Wally and Artemis were handling the eastern half, he was checking the underside from the water and Robin and I had to check the shipping containers. Which there were a lot of and they were stacked in such a way that we would have a lot of nooks and crannies to check. Joy.

We started searching from the centre of all the containers, agreeing to split the work between us.

"You were thinking again on the ship," Robin said.

"I was wondering what I should get The Bat as thanks for everything. I had stress enough trying to get something for you. He seems like the man that has everything high-tech or cool in nature. He doesn't look like the sweater kind of guy either." Robin laughed.

"Maybe you could try that. He probably gets cold sometimes, too."

"I wouldn't be surprised if his suit has built in heaters or something like that. Next."

"Buy him coffee for a year?"

"Some serious suggestions, please." He laughed.

"You're on your own."

"Oh, you're helpful." I rolled my eyes. "I doubt I can get anything affordable and not from the black market that'll tickle his fancy. Unless of course, I get him one of the laser straps like yours, which then proves me to be unimaginative." Something came to mind and after giving it an extra second of thought, I decided it was the best thing I could come up with. "Oh, I think I've got it."

"What have you got in mind?"

"Something very cool and super-ninja-like."

"Wow. Descriptive."

"I know, right. Anyway, we've got to part ways now. We'll continue this later."

"Okay." We parted ways, continuing to search the containers.

"Megan to team," I heard in my comm not a half hour later. "Superboy and I haven't got anything on our side."

"Same here," Artemis responded.

"We're still searching," Robin said.

"As am I. We'll keep looking while the four of you keep a lookout to make sure there's no one suspicious around."

"Roger."

I had finished clearing most of the containers when I went around the back of them to start searching. I opened the third crate when an unexpected foot ended up contacting with my face, throwing me to the floor. After a brief second of orienting myself with the situation, I got up and looked at my opponent. The man was about Conner's height though thinner than him and he was wearing odd face paint that made me think he was mimicking a tiger's ass. He was wearing a fitted dark green short-sleeved leotard-suit-thing that stopped mid-thigh on him and showed a lot of his dark skin. His hair was shaved off apparently. He was barefooted and barehanded.

"Robin," I yelled. He came running and came to stand less than three feet away from me.

Crazy tiger guy lunged at me and Robin moved in front of me to take him first and instead he was kicked straight back into me and we both ended up going back until the container stopped us. He removed himself from in front of me.

"My turn." I went forward, shoving the heel of my palm towards his nose. He managed to dodge it but I hit the centre of his abdominals with two straight fingers and pulled one of his legs from under him. He fell backwards but was back up in moments, shocking me for one and then catching me off guard when he pulled both feet from under me, flooring me. Robin made a move while I was on the floor and when I got up I saw them trapped in a hand-to-hand battle and Robin was being pushed back. I struck the guy along the line of his spine and at the articulation points of his arms from behind. He grew limp then and fell onto Robin who retreated backwards and let the guy fall on his face. I secured his arms behind him, not at all trying to be gentle.

"Who sent you?" I asked. He responded with silence. I hit his shoulder and his back muscle with my fingers in a way that would cause them to tense uncomfortably. "I'll ask again. Next time, I'm going to dislocate your arm. Who sent you?"

"Okay, okay. Cheshire sent me. She was expecting a member of the Justice League, though, not some tiny substitutes and some random nobody." I pinched a spot behind his neck which caused him to yell in pain.

"You're clearly an idiot to insult the nobody that could pretty much make sure you never move anything south of your head ever again. You won't even be able to scratch your own nuts. Where's the bomb?"

"Let me up and I will lead you to it."

"No deal. Just tell me where it is or else I'll make sure talking's the only thing you can ever do ever again."

"You don't understand. I can't tell you where it is. I have to show you. Your damn eyes would miss it altogether."

"How small is the thing?"

"If you let me up, I could show you." I looked at Robin.

"Let him up," he said.

I got off him and Kid and Artemis came just then.

"What's the deal?" Kid asked. Noting my distraction, the tiger guy threw his head back into my face, throwing me off of him and he started running in the direction of where Megan and Conner were. I stayed there, with my hand to my face, trying very, very hard not to curse. If he seemed to think he could handle me, let him try Conner on for size.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked me, putting his hand on my elbow and shoulder. I took a second to let the pain start to subside.

"I'm alright. I just want to rip his fingers off."

When I looked in the direction that he has run, Kaldur had intercepted him and they were fighting. Lion guy threw what could only have been a throwing knife up in the air and my eyes followed it until I realised that there was a crane with a container still in the air where he had thrown it. The line was cut and the container began sailing to the ground. I wondered what the use of that was when I heard Megan's scream. I ran towards Wally and Artemis to try to get to them and heard the explosion go off after the impact of the container on the dock. I stopped when I saw that she was okay, that Conner has protected her with his own body and that they had narrowly avoided the large hole in the centre of the dock. They were looking at each other in a way that I'd seen only too many times in movies. He was so scared that he had almost lost her. She was so touched by the way he endangered himself for her (though not really since he was Superboy).

When I realised what was going on and Wally's approach, I pulled his legs from under him, pinned him under my weight, holding his hands behind his back and put my finger to my lips and watched on.

"What's the—" Robin began. I cut him off by putting my fingers to my lips and he shut up right away and looked on with me.

"What was that for?" Wally asked quietly.

"I'm preventing you from ruining what I've worked to help happen." I had to concentrate and really listen to hear what was going on.

"You saved me," she said.

"I had to." They continued to look at each other with this deep, appreciative look in their eyes and then their faces drifted closer. No interruptions this time. They kissed.

"Yes," I said softly under my breath. I got off of Wally and he rubbed his wrists.

"What is the matter?" Kaldur asked softly, coming over, dragging the guy who was now unconscious. I pointed and he looked for a brief second. "Oh." I did a very characteristic up and down jump and three tiny claps in happiness. "I do not understand why that makes you gleeful however."

"I'm happy they've stop skirting around each other and that they've finally made a move that seemed so obvious all along." I looked back at them and Kal looked quite puzzled. "Well, maybe it was obvious to me."

They broke the kiss and he helped her up and they just stayed there, her hand still in his. Conner's eyes spotted us then.

"I think it's safe to interrupt now," I said. We walked out to meet them and I examined the hole. I could see the rushing waters below. I let out a low whistle. "I hope nothing important was in that container, like some poor nerd's comic book collection or some old lady's new wheelchair." I turned to Kal. "Cheshire sent her. You came up against her when you were guarding the doctor who invented The Fog."

"I recall her. We should report to the League at once," Kal said.

"Megan, are you alright?" I asked innocently, as if I hadn't seen him protecting her.

"I'm fine. Superboy protected me," she answered, looking at him all lovingly, just like he was looking back at her.

"Let us return to HQ," Kal said. We started heading back to the ship and I nudged Conner with my elbow and gave him a devious little smile. He smiled back and I winked at Megan who was still holding his hand. I walked ahead and put my hand around Wally's shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll get yours soon enough," I told him.

"Are you admitting that I've finally charmed you?" he asked. I barked a laugh.

"No. Look, just don't worry about it. You won't need my help at all. I feel this one will unfold totally for itself." I removed my arm from his shoulder and, feeling high and happy, I went over to Robin. "I'll race you to the Bioship. Loser buys the funnel cakes next time." He smiled.

"You're on." I gave him a little push and started running.

"Cheater! Sore loser!" he called behind me. I burst into absolutely joyful, delighted and carefree laugher, even as he caught up to me.


	18. Chapter 18

**It's the scene! It's the scene! Sit back and enjoy, fanfictioners. I'm proud of this scene. So excited.**

The trick to letting a wound heal quickly is to leave it and not disturb it much during the healing process. That being said, the injury to my arm shouldn't have been anywhere near healed since all I had done was exert myself with training and missions. So, when I woke up the next morning, checked my bandage and inspected the wound, it should not have reflected that it was pretty much healed, nor should it have looked like it was healing rather well all the other times I had checked it prior. I began to wonder what the hell had been in the antiseptic Robin had used on me. I had also been using an ointment on it but that should not have been enough for the wound to heal so well given the fact that I was all but abusing my arm. At least half of it had to have been divine intervention. I was never one to look a gift house in the mouth so I was just thankful. Thankful for the little things, I was in a really good mood for the morning.

"Hey, Hy," Tanya said, coming over. She seemed pretty chipper, too.

"Hi, Tan. How are you?"

"I'm good. But the question is how are you?"

"I'm really good."

"Really? What happened?"

"An injury I got healed. And some friends of mine have just taken the first step on the path to a happy ending."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

"I'm not sure I get why you're in such a good mood. How's the thing with your friend going?"

"It's not. He likes someone."

"So why are you smiling?"

"Because I'm happy."

"Why? Is the crush on you?"

"Doubtful. I didn't ask specifics but there's no sign that I'm his girl. But, the day I found out he has a crush, we bonded a little. He proved that he was pretty much the best guy friend I could ever have asked for in life. He's like my own little angel." She rolled her eyes.

"Talk about cliché reference. You're turning into the clichéd girl who's totally enamoured by some guy."

"That may be so."

"So you're really giving up now?"

"I'm deciding to be there for him. Even though I really like him and it hurts a little to know that he might not be mine, our friendship is something really important. We're really close and really important to one another. I have to be there to support him just like he's there to support me." Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, sweet heavens. Are you _in love_ with him?" I scoffed.

"Doubtful. I've known him like two weeks. Less than that actually."

"That may be but it certainly sounds like you two bare your heart and soul to each other. It doesn't take much for you to fall for someone and you certainly sound like you know enough about him to make you love him. Time has little to nothing to do with love. It's especially illogical as well. What, pray tell, would you call this thing you have for him? A crush?"

"No. It's more than that. The word 'crush' doesn't sound strong enough to denote what this is. I don't know what to call it. I just know that it's something very strong, something maybe a little bittersweet, something real." She flicked my forehead and rolled her eyes while I just rubbed my head.

"That's love, idiot. That point when you don't want to kill the girl he's with, instead you want him to be happy and you want to be there for him, where he's so important to you and you think living without him, even if he's not yours, is pointless: that's love. You know, for a while, you had me convinced that _you_ were the smart one."

"Affections make people stupid."

"You still won't admit you love him?"

"Could I go at my own pace please?" She threw her hands up in surrender.

"Alright. Just remember that this is the twenty-first century where women don't always have to wait for the guys to make the first move anymore. It's actually not recommended that you wait longer than necessary because some other girl who gets that before you do will also get the guy before you do."

"Would you stop rushing me and let me think?"

"No, Hy. Enough thinking. Stop thinking and act! Before it's too late."

"Okay, okay. How much more time am I allowed? Another week?" She exhaled.

"You dictate your own pace, Hyacinth. This isn't something where I tell you what to do and you do it. I'm here for advising purposes only. At the end of the day, the decision is still in your hands. You know him so you've got to know how long you can really afford to wait. Unless of course you plan on acting even _after_ he's sought after the other girl and possibly they're together."

"My name is not home wrecker."

"That's not home wrecking. It's just insensitive to tell him after he's in a situation where he's already pursuing one target. That will confuse him and hurt her. She'll hate you and he'll avoid you."

"I got it. I got it. But next week really feels like the better time, not this week."

"Alright then. Be prepared to alter your plans though."

"Why's that?"

"I may not really be as religious as you but sometimes someone else has other plans and your plans will get skewed. Just make sure you can deal with it when you-know-who throws you a curve ball."

"Want to tell me how to deal with that?"

"No." The bell rang. "See you around, Hy." She turned and walked away.

"Yeah, bye. You're so helpful, Tan!" I called behind her. She gave a thumbs up over her shoulder and I just chuckled. Curve ball. Yeah. That could mean anything in the world. How was I supposed to deal with anything in the world? Improvise? I just may have had to rely on that skill. I didn't really have any answers.

"Please elaborate!" I begged as I unwrapped my sandwich for lunch.

"On what?" she asked.

"How to deal with curve balls." She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Hy, stop and think for a second."

"I thought you said to stop thinking."

"I did. But—Oh, whatever. What I mean is that you've got to think up all that you know about him to help you predict various curve balls. He might tell you when he's about to make a move before next week so you should prepare for that. Or he might tell you _after_ he's made a move. Be prepared for _that_. A nice curve ball would be if he told you he's lost interest in her."

"How about I pray that things go according to plan?"

"You could try that. Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"That you'll call me as soon as something important happens."

"Oh, alright."

"Good. Meanwhile, I've got my own problems."

"What's up?"

"My recital got moved up a week. It's next Friday now."

"The day school ends."

"Exactly. So now I've got to study for exams next week _and_ practise my butt off. How will I ever survive!" I chuckled.

"You drama queen! You'll be fine. You can do it. You're like Wonder Woman without the super strength, cool costume, height or black hair."

"Gee, thanks. I wonder how tall she really is."

"Tall. Real tall." She gave me an odd look. "I managed to catch a glimpse of her once."

"Seriously? Is she prettier in person?"

"She's gorgeous."

"Wow. People like her just make you feel horrible, don't they?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. She seems nice, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Nice enough. Once you don't get her mad." We chuckled. "I'll never be a six-foot beauty like her but I'm happy enough knowing I'm taller than you by like two inches."

"That's nice, Tan."

"You know, you could act a little more jealous."

"But I'm not. I'm happy with my five-five height. I think she might be six-four though." She gave a low whistle.

"Well, I'd hate to stand next to her." I laughed.

"Relax, you've probably still got a few inches to go."

"Yeah. A few." The bell rang. "Class. Oh, goody," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Goodbye, Tanya. Try not to get in trouble." She repeated my words in a mocking tone as she headed to the door. I smiled.

"Hy!" Tanya's voice yelled after me just as I was exiting the school building. I turned and she caught up, walking with me as I went towards the pavement. "Do you think you can make the recital?"

"Don't I always?"

"You've been extra busy these days."

"Well, I'll definitely come, okay?"

"Would your mom like to come, too, or January?"

"Not too sure. You trying to get rid of two tickets or something?"

"Kind of."

"I'll see if I can find someone. How much do I owe you for them?"

"Sixty."

"Alright. Aren't you like late or something?"

"Yeah, but—Who is that?" I followed her glance and noticed Robin with his usual smile. I returned it. Her eyes fell on my face, noted my smile and then returned to him. "_Oh_."

"Goodbye, Tanya. Don't make Madame Vergule scream at you again. You know you cry every time she does and you call me to cry on top of that."

"Ooh, he _is_ super cute. Bye. Good luck. Nice job, kid." She backtracked and headed quickly to where her ride was supposed to be parked. I met up with Robin and we started walking to where the bike was stashed.

"Is that Tanya?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"She's cute."

"Funny. She thinks the same thing of you. You're not going to ask me for her phone number are you?"

"You know I won't."

"Just covering my bases here. I've got good news."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"My arm has healed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can inspect it later just to be certain."

"Awesome. I was thinking our rematch was long overdue." I gave him a half-smile and raised an eyebrow.

"Not like you'll win this time."

"We'll see."

I didn't opt to drive the bike today so I sat contentedly behind him. I wasn't sure if he was really driving extra crazy today or if it was just me.

"I'm home," I called as we entered. No one but my own echo responded. The holo-screen wasn't on and the place was pretty dark. "Where is everyone?" Wally came out with Kaldur a second later.

"Oh, hey," Wally greeted.

"Hey, guys...Where's Megan, Conner and Artemis?"

"Artemis got a message from Canary that training for today is cancelled so she's not coming. As for Conn and Megan..."

"They are on a date," Kaldur finished. I raised my eyebrows and smirked.

"_Hello_, Megan. That's fantastic. Things are really moving along now," I responded.

"How could you facilitate that? We all know I'm the best match for her," Wally griped. I laughed.

"Um, no, Wally. You're a nice guy and everything but _Conner's_ her best match. You like her and she ignores your advances. Them on the other hand, they've got more than chemistry. They've got a mutual understanding of what it's like to be alien and they relate to each other. They couldn't be more perfect for each other if we had set them up to begin with."

"How did you know that they had a mutual affection for each other?" Kaldur asked.

"_That_, my friend, was obvious to me since our sleepover. If you paid careful attention to them when they were sitting next to each other, you would have noticed the way they kept looking at each other and the way they tried to stay next to each other during the weekend. I may have given him a bit of advice but their situation existed without me having done anything. I just oiled a few ball bearings, if you will, so it could move along, gave him a few words of encouragement."

"Do you get off of playing Cupid or something?" Wally asked. "Because you can romance me all you want, you know." I shook my head and smiled.

"See, that right there is why you miss the piece of your own puzzle."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you don't get it yet, I can't possibly explain it to you. In time, you'll get it. Like I told you, I won't even have to do anything where your little situation is concerned. That will just unfold for itself albeit it will need to be given time. Anyway, you guys are in civvies. What's up?"

"I just convinced Kaldur that we should get a pizza while we have the evening off. You guys want to come?"

"We can't," Robin replied.

"We've got a rematch to attend to," I explained. Wally shrugged.

"'Kay. We'll see you later then."

"Is Red Tornado in?" Robin asked.

"Nah. I think he went with the League on the emergency that's keeping Canary away." Wasn't that just convenient.

"Well, have fun. And don't poison Kaldur," I said. "I think I'll cry if you kill him." I winked at Kal and he just gave me a half-smile.

"You're kidding, right?" Wally asked, expression dry.

"Yes, Wally. I'm kidding. Have a slice for me."

"I will. Enjoy your...rematch," Kaldur said.

"Oh, I will. Not so sure about her," Robin said. I rolled my eyes.

"You're not going to win."

"Don't be so certain about that." The two guys walked past us and exited. Robin started towards the holo-screen.

"Leave it off. It irritates me a little to see that 'fail' sign. It's just plain mean. Plus, hitting the floor doesn't necessarily mean that you're out."

"Okay. Meet back in five?"

"Yeah." We headed off to change.

I left off my eye mask, not seeing the need for it and returned to find Robin in full costume, eye mask included. I wondered for a brief moment what colour they were. I'd probably never know so I dropped it, shrugged to myself and approached him.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Pretty much." He turned and started walking away from me to the other side of the arena. I waited for him to reach the other end and turn before I ran straight towards him, both hands fisted and poised to attack. He seemed to get into a stance to parry but then, inches from him, I did a front hand spring instead, launching my feet towards his face. That managed to push him back and I stood, fists ready for him as he regained his footing and balance. He wiped the side of his face and started coming at me this time. I aimed an upper cut at his stomach which he managed to not avoid but he didn't let it incapacitate him. He grabbed the arm connected to the fist that struck him in the stomach and launched me into the air behind him. I stayed on the ground for a second to take a breath, that move having winded me, and then in one fluid movement, got back onto my feet.

"Nice move," I said.

"How's that confidence now?"

"Still intact."

He charged at me again, starting this time with a couple roundhouse kicks which I parried with my arms before grabbing his foot and pulling him to the ground, not even bothering to throw him anywhere. His other foot ended up in my stomach, which I could almost hear screaming for Jesus after that strike, and I released his foot and retreated a few steps. He was on his feet in moments, back in a prepared stance and I put a hand to my stomach for a second, letting the air back into my body.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Wonderful." He charged again, fists moving towards my face which I parried with both my arms before dropping into a stoop and sweeping him off of his feet in the literal manner. He hit the ground and I stood but his foot moved to do the same for me so that I was not standing for long. He rolled out of the way so that I hit the floor face first. I rolled back over but he was pinning me no sooner than I was on my back, straddling me, knees on my hands. He leaned in, closer to my face.

"I win." I smirked at him then contacted my forehead with his, unbalancing him so that the pressure his knees were exerting on my hands decreased enough for me to pull them out, roll over to place him beneath me, straighten out his legs and pin him just as he had pinned me, securing his hands behind his back instead of holding them hostage under my knees. My head throbbed in protest but I ignored it. He stayed there for a second, taking a few breaths before he attempted the same feat. I leaned to the left and then to the right when he attempted it again. I applied some more pressure to the hands on the floor and he sank back down, panting in a rhythm complementary to my body's own desperate moves to replace air. I just kept my eyes trained on him the whole time, his own gaze fixed on me. I raised my eyebrows with a slight smile. He just continued to look back and refill his oxygen.

"Okay," he said finally, "you win." I turned my head just slightly and narrowed my eyes at him.

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes, yes. I won't attack you again. I promise." I gave him a smile.

"How's that confidence now?"

"I'll beat you someday."

"Sure, sure. Maybe the day I beat you at videogames." He laughed and I joined him.

By now my breathing had steadied and so had his. My face was closer to his than before, sure now that he was not going to attempt to bash my head with his again. I realised it was probably a good idea that I get off of him. I released his hands and pulled mine from under him intending to lean back and get off of him. Just as soon as I had let go his hands, he put them on my arms, just above my elbows and brought his lips up to mine and kissed me.

My eyes shut the second our lips collided. But after what seemed like an overly short second, he pulled away, lying back on the floor. My heart started hammering in my chest, my mind flat-lined and I just stared back at him.

The entrance of the cave indicated an approaching Red Tornado and his hands slipped off of me and I got up.

"Greetings, children. You are aware there is no training today, are you not?" he said.

"Yeah. We were just having a rematch," Robin said, starting to get up. I just felt the need to run.

"I—I have to go." I ran to the living room, retrieved my bag and ran straight to the door. When the open field greeted my eyes, I broke into a run, trying as hard as I could to get away from there. The sky was overcast, it was about to rain and I couldn't help thinking that it was oddly fitting. After I'd gone a few feet, I started to slow my pace a little. I slowed just a bit and then turned, realising that he wasn't even intending to follow me. What was that? What the hell did he think he was doing?

Just as I turned, I noticed Robin charging me at full speed and before I could tell my body to turn and dart faster, we collided and I was on the ground again. How we landed with him pinning me like before, I was not sure, but I was trapped under him. He was panting again and so was I and I gave myself a couple of seconds to breathe before I started screaming at him.

"Just what the hell was that, Robin? Kissing someone isn't a battle strategy, you jackass. You don't do something like that—"

"Do you ever shut up?" he exclaimed loudly, cutting me off and silencing me then. I realised then how serious his facial expression was.

"Wha—"

"Shut up! Would you let me talk for once?" I shut my mouth and waited for him to speak again. He took two breaths to calm his breathing, his eyes never leaving me. "I couldn't let him have you, Hy. I'm done sitting by, pretending like I want to help you with your guy problems and just be your friend. I can't let him have you. Not when I want you so much. You make me crazy, Hy. And I know I'm putting our friendship on the line by doing this but I need you to know where I stand. I don't want to lose our great friendship but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a lot stronger towards you." Seconds of silence passed between us and I took that to mean that he was done.

"Huh? I don't get it! Weren't you moping over some girl when we were on the rooftop the other day? Where did this come from all of a sudden?" I protested.

"No, you idiot, I was depressed because of you. When I found out there was someone occupying your thoughts, someone you were going crazy over, it hit me like a brick. It occurred to me that I was losing you to someone else. I couldn't focus in school today because I was too busy thinking about that. On one hand, I only wanted you to be happy but on the other hand, I didn't want some other guy to take you away from me. It might have been only a matter of time before he stole our friendship and not just your affections from me. I realised I didn't want to allow that. It's been killing me to smile for you, to pretend like I'm okay when this whole time it's been freaking eating me. I wanted you to give me a chance before you picked him. You needed to know how I felt before you closed that door forever because only an idiot would reject a marvellous, wonderful, fiery, crazy, spectacular and insanely fun and cool girl like you."

The laugh came out of me before I could stop it. He eyed me as I laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Is it really crazy that I like you?" I was still too high to answer. The laugh just continued. "You don't have to be so cruel, you know. I get it. Just forget I ever said anything—" I fisted my hands in his hair and pulled his head closer so I could kiss him again and shut him up before he continued spouting utter bullshit and before I hit him for it. He yielded to my kiss and when I broke it, he looked extremely bewildered as he pulled back. "Huh? Now I'm confused." My smile stayed right where it was.

"I'm not laughing at you, jackass. I'm laughing at how ridiculously unreal it is for you to feel the same way that I do about you."

"Wait...the...the same way?"

"Yes, Robin. You're the guy that almost got me killed a few days ago. I've been dying in irony at the fact that you're always there for me and yet you're the one driving me insane in the first place."

"Really? Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Timing. I was trying to give myself some space to get comfortable with it because I knew telling you might destroy our friendship and I was trying to make sure this was more than about the fact that you gave me a _Blackberry Style_ and helped me get over my fear and have been super-nice to me. I realised those are just all parts of the amazing person that you are but then I learnt about your little crush and it hurt a bit but I just wanted you to be happy so I was backing off and just trying to be there for you while you stewed in your own silent agony over some girl that I wasn't."

"But you were the girl—_are_ the girl."

"And you're the guy. You're the guy that I want, too."

"Unreal."

"Isn't it?"

"Yeah." He chuckled and I smiled.

"There you go saving me again. You seem to always be my personal bodyguard or hero or something."

"Well, don't worry about it. Sometimes heroines need heroes. And there is nothing that I'd like more right now than being the hero to your heroine." I beamed a smile at him which he returned before his face came towards mine again. He placed a kiss to the corner of my mouth before laying his lips against mine to allow me to kiss them again. His lips felt like everything I'd ever wanted them to feel like, his soft kiss made me feel like I was floating in a sea of absolute contentment. "To think we were both worried about nothing. To think we worried about the same kind of nothing," he said against my lips. I kissed him again.

"To think." Thunder rolled and lightning cracked and then the sky opened up and began pouring its drops of cool water onto the Earth, us included.

"You should probably get out of costume and we should get out of the rain." I laughed, reading a non-existent innuendo in his words. "I mean you should probably change." I laughed louder at hearing him stumble to clarify his statement.

"I get what you mean. Get off of me, will ya?" He rolled off of me and I hugged him there on the grass for a moment while the cool, wonderful rain poured onto us. He held me there for the moment that I hugged him and when I released him, he got up, pulling me with him and we ran back to the base.

We both changed and we waited out the rain in a kind of comfortable silence. It didn't rain for long so in a half an hour we left the base. He took me home as usual, walking me up the stairs and we stood at the door for a long moment, just staring at each other.

"So," he said. I chuckled.

"See you tomorrow. You should really ask your guardian about that dinner now."

"I asked him the day your mom reminded me. He laughed and said sure."

"Is this the part where I ask you what now?"

"That depends on if you think you can handle being the girlfriend of the Boy Wonder."

"I think I can handle it." He leaned in and gave me one short kiss.

"Tell Mrs. Quinteros and your family I say hi."

"Sure thing. I'll wait till you come to dinner to break the news then. When's good for you?"

"A—Bu—How's next week Friday sound?"

"Sounds really great. See you later, sidekick."

"Yeah, see you later, flower girl." He put his arms around me and held me to him for a long moment before he let go and started down the stairs again. I sighed and knocked on the door.

As soon as I was changed and out of the bathroom, I pressed the eight button on my phone, speed dial for Tanya, and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello," she greeted after two rings.

"Hi, Tan. You told me to call."

"Wait, did something happen?"

"He kissed me." There was a lull and I checked the phone to see if we were still connected.

"Wait..._what_?" I laughed at her stunned sounding reaction. "Tell me _everything_."

**Does that make you happy? It makes me happy.**


	19. Chapter 19

**So, I wake up the morning of June 20****th**** (public holiday in my country so I'm home and I slept late, haha) and I see **_**19**_** emails in my inbox. This reader, **_Penny ToughGirl_ _()_**, left reviews for every chapter of this story and for my other YJ story **_**'She Has No Fear'**_**. I would like to give reader Penny a grand shout out. For those who haven't checked out my profile, I'm from Trinidad (the one in the Caribbean) so school isn't exactly out for me yet (the story's more complex than that but you probably don't care and want me to get to the next chapter). That managed to drain all my creative energies. Seeing all those reviews, well, it gave me the kick in the pants I needed to work on this next chapter. So, thanks again to Penny for her awesometastic encouragement. Don't feel jealous, guys, I love you all and I'd also like to hail out my other wonderful reviewers.**

The sun and the soft cool breeze that greeted me the moment I awakened served as a reminder of the wonderful ways that I was blessed to experience them. The beautiful wonders served also to remind me that today was different; it was a new beginning with new things. It reminded me of last night and of yesterday and how things would be different now.

I had found myself humming as I checked my email at my laptop in my room, having just gotten off the phone with Tanya about three minutes ago. She had partially deafened me with all her screams and squeals of delight as I gave a detailed yet not too detailed account of all that had gone down between me and Robin. She wasn't yet of the knowledge that my special hobby was running around and beating up punks that dared to terrorise and endanger the lives of others. Despite the editing, I smiled while recounting it. I could tell that she was genuinely happy for me, getting just as involved in it herself just the way that I had done where Megan and Conner were concerned. Just as soon as she could control the happily hysterical squealing, she said a quick goodnight.

Just three minutes after I was off the phone and just beginning to go through the few unread emails I had, my phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Hey, there."

"Robin! How are you?" He chuckled; there was a definite smile in his voice.

"Good. Feeling the aster, turbed, scared to death, you know. And you?"

"Why are you scared?"

"I'd tell you but that would be counterproductive to the reason why I called." I raised an eyebrow reflexively even though he couldn't see. "But how are you?" I snickered, high at just hearing his voice.

"I'm pretty darn great. Fearless in fact." He chuckled.

"I hear ya. What I called for actually was to ask if you'd like to go out with me tomorrow."

"That was fast."

"Huh?"

"I thought normally you're supposed to wait like three days before calling the girl or something and setting up a date." He laughed.

"_Please_. Hy, there is nothing normal about our relationship." I shrugged.

"Very true. Well, mostly true. Some of it's pretty normal. What time were you thinking?"

"Nine-ish. Unless that's too early."

"No, no. Nine is fine. Where should I meet you?" He chuckled.

"Don't worry about it. I'll meet you at home." Raised eyebrows.

"Oh, okay. Sweet. Can't wait." I heard some shuffling noises, like a hand over the mouthpiece, and then he told someone that he was coming.

"I…got to go. See you tomorrow, okay?" I smiled.

"Okay. Goodnight. Sweet dreams." Why did I have the instinctive urge to add 'I love you' at the end of that? Oh, right, that was what I told my parents and sister as we went to bed, Tanya occasionally if she called me at night or if either she or I was sleeping over.

"Goodnight, Hy. Dream of me." I scoffed.

"You wish, sidekick." He laughed and the call ended. He was probably going to be right sooner or later anyway.

I got off my bed and started making it when my phone's message tone went off.

_Really sorry but something_

_came up and I can't make_

_our date. Sorry. I'll make_

_it up to you._

I frowned. Typically, a girl was supposed to feel hurt when her first date got cancelled and she should think that that was a bad omen for the future of their relationship. Not being the typical girl and understanding Robin, I just shrugged and understood. I just bet it was either family matters or Dynamic Duo stuff.

**It's fine. Don't sweat it. I'll**

**hold you to that promise.**

**See you later anyway.**

_Who said anything about_

_a promise? XD_

**Shut it, sidekick.**

**You owe me.**

**End of story.**

_Okay, okay. I promise_

_I'll make it up to you._

_See you later._

**Yeah, later. I hope.**

Everybody seemed to be having an early start because despite the fact that it was just seven a.m. all the members of my family were awake and as soon as I returned to my room after the morning grooming, Tanya called.

"Morning, Tan."

"Hey, lover girl." I rolled my eyes. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Not anymore anyway."

"What happened?"

"I was supposed to have a date this morning but something came up."

"Oh. Sucks yet perfect. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to help me do some stuff."

"You don't have practice today? Aren't you the principal of your troupe or something?"

"Yeah but Madame Vergule said she had some things to do today and couldn't come watch me practise. I figure we need to hang out and talk anyway. Meet me at Aberdeen's Mall in a half hour?" I sighed. Tanya and her ridiculous time restraints. She was closer to the mall than I was and, due to her training because of ballet, was proficient in quick changes.

"Sure."

"Cool. See ya in thirty." The phone disconnected. Good thing I'd already had a shower and all that was left was to change.

When I met up with Tan, she was wearing a cute, yellow sundress and sandals, looking more than just marginally more glamorous than I was in my dark brown jacket, tee-shirt, dark blue jeans and sneakers. Although, Tanya was always cute no matter what she wore, with her long brown hair and bangs that extended over her forehead to her eyebrows and small, oval glasses—the main reason why I had to guard her from guys.

"Hey, Hy."

"Hi, Tany. " We headed into the mall. "So where are we headed?"

"I need to get a dress for after my performance on Friday. You know, when I go out to meet people."

"Isn't that something that only really famous dancers for famous dance companies endure? For actual shows patronised by the rich and famous and significant in life, not just Happy Harbour folks? No offence to the regular folks, of course."

"I'm in training for that. I'm training to become their prima."

"That's so great! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks. You know that I've dreamt since I was a little girl about becoming a prima. The possibility that it could come true is insane." We veered into a store and headed straight for the section furthest to the back where they had selections of elegant gowns. We started rifling through two different but abreast racks.

"Anyway, enough about me. I want to talk about you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm great, Tan."

"You don't want to hit him for ducking out on you?"

"No. I'm sure it was something important."

"You didn't even ask?"

"He doesn't _have_ to tell me everything, you know. There is a certain degree of secrecy that he's always kept between us and it can stay that way. He needs his space and I respect that."

"You're not concerned that that could get in the way? Let's say, for example, that he doesn't talk about his family." Which he doesn't. "Suppose you ask, he gets defensive and dodgy and that turns into a fight. You'll be all like 'I don't know why you can't trust me with this' and he'll be all like 'You don't understand' and before you know it, poof, end of relationship." I rolled my eyes.

"Not that I act like that. Wasn't it you who said that the mystery is what'll keep the relationship going?"

"Yes, but no one likes an unsolvable mystery." I exhaled.

"Look, Tan, I can't really explain it but —"

"Am I at least entitled to his name?"

"Robin."

"Cute. Go on."

"Yeah, I can't really explain it but he's not really in a position to tell me everything and that's fine once we don't end up lying to one another. I'm fine if he can't tell me something. We just have to work around it."

"Let's just say that you do keep things secret. What about if he decides to ask you to marry him? What then?"

"Aren't you taking this a little too far?"

"No. Your mom married her first boyfriend, didn't she?"

"That's different. They started dating when she was like twenty. I'm fifteen."

"Age means nothing, honey. Just think about it." I sighed.

"Then I suppose he'll have to tell me his secrets. But I'll wait for him to do it. I'm not going to hustle him about it." She rolled her eyes.

"You are _so_ in love with him." I looked up at the ceiling in an almost miniature prayer for patience.

"What did I tell you about letting me go at my own pace?" Two dresses caught my eye and I pulled them from the rack to check out their length and sizes. "Here." I handed her the dresses and she put them in the same hand as the two she had picked out.

"Forget that. We need to talk about this. What's so wrong about you being in love with him? Your parents are six years apart and you often tell me that you also believe that age has not a damn thing to do with it. So what if you're fifteen and you love him? _So what_?" She went into the changing room. I exhaled. I sort of knew that answer. She said it before I could, sticking her head out of the changing room curtain with a grave expression. "Oh. You're afraid of getting hurt." I just stared at her and she stared back. This whole transparency thing was really freaking getting on my nerves. I needed to stop wearing my heart—and my thoughts—on my sleeve like my dad.

"Maybe," I said, sounding rather exasperated. She stared at me for another long moment before pulled her head back into the changing room. I sat and there was silence for the next two minutes.

"Do you think he could hurt you?" Tanya asked finally, breaking the silence. I exhaled.

"I don't think anyone really thinks someone they like is going to hurt them or that they _would_ hurt them, I think they just know that it's a possibility, that they _could_ hurt them. Robin's one of the sweetest guys I've ever met and he's really precious to me. But at the same time, you bring up a good point about the secrets. I'm fighting you down about it because I don't really want to acknowledge the possibility so much. Even if the secrets are okay, people are frail and there are just so many things that could lead to getting hurt. If it's not one thing, it's another…"

"So you think he's capable of hurting you?"

"No. Yes. I don't think he'd mean to though. I think everyone is capable of hurting everyone."

"So if you're sure he won't mean to hurt you—and I'm almost absolutely sure you're right about that, given what he said to you yesterday when he confessed—can you not work with that? If you get hurt, talk it through maturely. You guys understand each other but words have a funny way of falling short in the expression of anything, especially feelings. But if you two stop and talk about it civilly and maturely, I'm sure it would clarify things and put both of you in a better position to know where to go from there." She opened the curtain and came out in the first dress. "You're a smart girl, Hy, and I think he's a smart guy, too. Idiots don't fall for intelligent girls. They get intimidated by them. You guys can always work something out, if not to save your relationship, to salvage your friendship."

"How the hell did you get so wise in fifteen short years?"

"You grow up fast when things aren't fairytale perfect. No offence to your rather happy life or anything."

"None taken. I've done some growing up, too, thanks to Jason. But I guess you still have the upper hand don't you?" She shrugged.

"Probably. How do I look?" She pulled the skirt a little and did a twirl.

"Next!" I shouted. She pouted, I laughed and she retreated behind the curtain.

"I don't really like the colour either." Just as she said that, my message tone went off and I checked my phone.

_I just wanted to say hi._

_So...um…hi._

I smiled. Tanya was right. We _could_ work things out. Just sending me that text reminded me of just how great he was and how much I wouldn't want to lose him.

**I was just thinking about**

**you, too. Hi. We'll hang**

**out after practice.**

_Perfect. See ya later._

**Later.**

Some people were just too sweet to ever let go of.

Tanya and I stayed at the mall much longer than was really necessary. Four o' clock came around and the place started to fill up with teenagers either in large groups or couples just looking for an excuse to go out together. Tanya had tried on the four dresses from the store and we both decided that we liked the third one best, a light teal one that ended mid calf with a waterfall of white glitter tulle in a line down the front and was strapless and clung in the right places in an elegant way. She looked rather mature in the dress. Sometimes, that was the way things needed to be to get taken seriously and to show how serious you were. It was appropriate for the event. It was Tanya's moment to shine and the dress made her do exactly that.

After she paid for the dress and we left the store, she decided for both of us that we didn't want to go home yet and so we made it our business to go into every shoe store and try on whatever caught our eye. Tan didn't need to get shoes for the recital but we were both weak for shoes and decided to cause ourselves the inconceivable pain of falling in love with things that we couldn't have. By the time we got hungry, I'd left a pair of boots and three pairs of stilettos in various stores that I figured had been created just for me. I waved at them as we left the store, leaving the salesgirl laughing.

From the food court we went to check out some CDs, again, just for the sake of it. The guy at the counter didn't pay us much attention while we picked out various albums and started talking about which songs had become mainstream that we liked, which CDs we'd never buy, which artistes should just stop making albums altogether and so forth. After about forty-five minutes in there, we left and it occurred to me that there was a gift I had to get.

I headed into this small Asian store and I said hi to the gorgeous Japanese guy behind the counter. He was rather friendly to me—it probably had something to do with the fact that I was in that store rather frequently—and sometimes I came into the store just to say hi to him. He was gorgeous, I couldn't help it. They sold everything from Chinese and Japanese sweets to kimonos and other kind of traditional Asian garb as well as other little trinkets from various parts of Korea, Japan, India and China. His Japanese accent wasn't too thick and his English was very good as well. I went to the back of the store by a second counter and he came behind that one as we moved. I started scanning the various racks behind him until I came by a frame which had four black, triangular shuriken with a purple sheen juxtaposed at the centre of the frame. There was writing at the top right hand corner in black.

"Hey, Han. Can you read that for me?" I asked, pointing at it. He turned to the frame and studied it for a quick moment.

"It says 'Valiant are those who fight for others. Their souls never truly die'." I smiled.

"I couldn't get anything more perfect. Thanks, Han. I'll take it."

"It's a hundred bucks."

"Worth it. Can you wrap it nicely for me?" He smiled.

"Sure thing. Who's your friend, the ninja?" he asked, gesturing at the gift.

"He might actually be the closest thing to a ninja that I'll ever meet. He's just someone who's really helped me out these past few weeks." He nodded. His eyes shifted to Tanya and she gave him a small smile which he returned. He handed me a bag after that and I gave him a bright smile, said thanks and walked out.

"Who's he?" Tan asked.

"Hot, isn't he?"

"_Yes_. Is he single?"

"He's twenty-six."

"Love knows no age."

"But jail does, Madame Jailbait." She laughed. "Where to now?"

"I'm tired of walking. Let's go sit in the food court."

Tan and I sat there talking and talking, both for the enjoyment of it and knowing that it was an ideal way to pass the time. She was in the middle of a sentence when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?" Robin asked.

"Aberdeen Mall. What's up?"

"Training." My phone said it was only four o' clock.

"We've got like an hour." I figured he just wanted to hang out a little. "You could meet me at the food court and the three of us could hang out for a while before we have to go."

"The three of us?"

"You, me and Tan."

"Oh, okay. I'll be there in like ten."

"Cool." I shut the phone and smiled at Tan. "Guess who's coming to join us." She stared at me and got really excited.

"No way. Seriously?" I nodded. "Good. It's about time I got to interrogating him." I just laughed and I allowed her to resume talking about the costume she would have to wear at her recital.

In eight minutes flat, my eyes came to notice the figure in the hoodie, jacket and shades coming towards Tan and I from across the food court and I smiled. He was already smiling but I noticed the way it widened infinitesimally as he saw that I noticed him and was giving him a smile. Tanya, the ninja in her own right where all things romantic were concerned—although not where it concerned her specifically—noticed the dumb smile on my face and followed my eyes to the right of me.

"Grab somebody sexy, tell 'em hey..." she started singing softly. I laughed and looked at her. "He really is cute though. Props to you."

"Thank you. He thinks the same of you, I should tell you."

"And are you okay with that?"

"I asked if he wanted your number and he said no." She chuckled.

"Oh, okay."

"Good afternoon, ladies," Robin said as he approached the table. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"No need to be quite so formal with Tanya, you know," I responded. "Robin, this is Tanya Devereaux. Tanya, this is Robin."

"What's up?" he responded, helping himself to the seat to my right.

"So, like, is it just Robin?" Tanya asked him.

"Yup."

"Cool."

"You're nobody shady, right? That's not the reason why you've dropped the last name and use what I presume is a pseudo, right?" He cracked a small smirk.

"Would you disapprove if I was?"

"Generally, I should say yes, but if you were, Hy wouldn't have gotten involved with you in the first place. But hey, I believe that even if you are and she still did, she'd have the power to change you." His eyebrows raised.

"Really?"

"Yup. No doubt at all."

"You're right. I agree. But no, I'm not anyone shady. I'm just an orphan." She frowned.

"Oh, crap. That's why you've dropped your name. It's, like, painful for you. I'm sorry I pried. I was just looking out for Hy, you know." He gave her a smile and shrugged. We both knew that was a lie but we'd let her go on thinking that. We didn't have a better excuse anyway that wouldn't make us oust ourselves.

"It's okay. I get it. That's what friends are for, right? That and totally embarrassing you in front of your crush. That being said, is there anything you want to spill about Hy to me?" He was wearing a wicked smile at the end and looking at me and I just gave him a slightly incredulous look.

"As a matter of fact..." Tanya began. I shot her a look. She ignored it entirely and looked back at him. "She might have a secret or two that I shouldn't share in the name of the sisterly friendship bond." I relaxed. "But then there are those little things that I'm going to tell you. Like the fact that she is _beyond_ obsessed with the Justice League and that kissing you was her first kiss or that she is a pretty terrible singer when she tries to hit high notes and she _loves_ to sing although she can't. Well, not that well, anyway." Robin laughed.

"Interesting. I'd just _love_ to hear that," he replied.

"Doubtful," I said.

"Catch her alone someday. Wait till she thinks no one is around. She's bound to start singing sooner or later. She's got this deep addiction and passion for music," Tanya said. I was glaring at her now and when she looked back to me to notice the glare, she burst into laughter. Her laugh was cute and I couldn't help smiling. I supposed that if our relationship really went anywhere, he would have found out sooner or later that I probably should avoid singing when other people could hear me or just about ever. But the boy was a ninja himself and now that his curiosity was piqued, he would probably try to go to great lengths just to catch me singing someday. But he didn't need to know that I was more likely to sing when it was raining... If Tanya told him that...

A girl in a shiny, iridescent purple dress walked past us and I saw Tanya's admiring eyes on it as the girl walked away.

"Ooh," she said, half under her breath. "Shiny."

"It's taffeta," I offered. "The colours are usually brilliant and iridescent like that. It makes the dress more eye-catching despite the simple shape." I glanced at Robin and noticed his eyes directed to me.

"Interesting bit of detective work," he said. Tanya scoffed.

"That's not detective work. Hy knows all kinds of stuff about clothes. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up."

"You mean when I get older. I'll never grow up." She chuckled.

"Interesting," Robin said again.

"Your adjectives seem limited when it comes to her," Tan commented.

"I've been here, what, six minutes and I've learned this much already. It's all new to me and interesting. Well, not all. I knew about her Justice League obsession," he responded. "I think she'd make a great fashion designer. I've seen a bit of her work."

"Isn't it simply fantastic?" she said passionately. "She designed this blouse for me once when I had to go to my cousin's wedding. She designed it, we went fabric shopping for it and then she took me to this seamstress to get it made. When I put it on after it was made, I was astonished. I'd _never_ seen anything more amazing in my life. And it cost me less than some designer thing that would have been lamer anyway." I looked down at my hands on the table, not really sure how to react to the praise.

"Well, I can't let you go out looking like a hobo. I have to make sure you steal at least some attention away from the bride," I said finally, looking up at her. She gave me a proud smile before turning her attention back to Robin.

"She won't let me look through her design journal though. And I really, really want to. I'm sure whatever she's got in there is pure gold," she griped.

"Maybe I can convince her to let you take a look at it," Robin said. His expression should have been unreadable because of the shades but I knew he was looking at me with a rather appreciative gaze that was probably enough to make my cheeks colour.

"Doubtful," I said simply, looking away. An alarm went off from my phone. It was time to go.

"You have to go," Tanya said.

"Yes," I responded. She shook her shoulders.

"Well, get a move on. I've got to go stretch my ballerina legs and obsess over next week Friday. I'll see you Monday."

"Okay." She looked at Robin and stood.

"It was nice to finally meet you, Robin. You seem to be a nice guy. Smart, too. So I don't have to tell you what I'll feel compelled to do if this relationship ends badly because of you." Robin nodded.

"Don't worry. I don't think anyone can hurt Hy. She's really strong," he answered.

"She's a lot frailer than you think, actually. Her bravado appears fantastic. And if there's anyone who can hurt her, certainly, it's you. You know what they say: the first cut is the deepest and all that." Robin opened his mouth to respond but then closed it again and kept gazing at her for a second before nodding. Her attention turned back to me. "Bye, kiddo." She turned and started walking off, leaving Robin and I alone at the table. Maybe it should have struck me as odd that she took it upon herself to leave first when _I_ was the one who had to leave but Tanya was one who didn't want people to worry about her too much. Knowing her, she probably had figured that if she left first, I wouldn't feel the need to walk her all the way home. I was still a bit worried, but the sun was still up so for the very least it was less dangerous than it could have been.

Robin touched my hand on the table, forcing my attention back to the immediate vicinity and to him. He gave me a half smile and I returned it.

"We should get moving," he said.

"Uh, yeah. We should." We stood and I made sure to take the bag with my purchase as we left the mall. Something about what she had said made me contemplative. I knew over thinking it would probably lead to me being in an especially large ditch, as it always did. I smiled as I played over Tan's threat to Robin over in my mind. Tanya probably couldn't scratch him if she tried. It was nice to know nonetheless that she was still really supporting me in this besides the fact that neither of us seemed to have all the answers about it. It made me wonder for a long moment about that which we were previously talking—_could_ and _would_ Robin hurt me?

**I am aware that this chapter is a major failure. I'm running on dregs so please forgive me. It'll get better after this, I swear. I was experiencing that awkward 'now-what?' feeling as I was writing this.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20! Yay! This story has gotten far! Again, I apologise for the delay. I was rather lost for a while with regards to where to go with this story now that they had kissed and things were actually moving along. But I think I did a good job with this part. I'd love to hear what you thought of it though.**

Training was as rigorous as usual with Canary smacking us all pretty much around the room. Since I was still floating on a cloud, I took about three hits that I could have easily avoided and used the pain of each to remind me that I had to keep my head in the game or else things would get very ugly very quickly. After about two hours of getting my ass kicked by Canary and sparring carefully with the teammates that I had been pitted against, we took a break for rest, ice packs and juice boxes. The Cave indicated Batman's entrance and I went to my bag, which I'd passed home for before training, to retrieve the gift I'd bought for him. He went straight to Canary to say something to her and I stood a distance away to avoid hearing something private to wait for my chance to have an audience with him. Canary got slightly pissed and concerned and then turned towards me and my teammates.

"I've got to go. Training is dismissed till Monday," she said simply. We all said various versions of farewells as she left and then I approached Batman.

"Can I help you?" he asked. It wasn't said rudely, he was just being his usual, rather detached self. I held the wrapped gift out to him which he took.

"Of course it's severely inadequate as repayment for your immense help but it's a start. I suppose," I said. He removed the paper around it and gazed at the frame before him.

"'Valiant are those who fight for others. Their souls never truly die'," he read. He looked back to me.

"You know Japanese. Nice. I'm aware you don't use shuriken but I figure it would make a nice decoration for…somewhere. Who knows, it may be of use someday. Anyway, let me stop rambling. Thanks again." I turned and started walking away to avoid prolonging the extremely awkward situation.

"Hy." I stopped and turned back to him. "I'm sure they'll be of use someday." I gave a half smile and started walking away again. I returned to my bag and picked it up to go to the bathroom to change. An arm on my hand stopped me and I turned.

"Hey, Hy. Do you think we can hang out after this?" Robin asked.

"I said we would, didn't I?" He smiled and shrugged.

"Wasn't sure if you forgot or something. I'm going to get changed and stuff now, too."

"Cool. I'll meet you back here." He walked away, down the hall and out of sight. I hurried to the bathroom, had a quick shower, making sure that my hair didn't get wet, and changed back into my normal clothes. After my hair was combed and falling neatly around me and my teeth were all clean and squeaky, I re-emerged and took a seat on the couch. Just as I was about to put my feet up, Robin approached, hair slightly wet and shades on as always. I stood. He smiled.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked. I shrugged, realising I hadn't given it a single thought; I had been too preoccupied with glee that we were going out, period. "Well, I actually had something in mind. I hope you don't mind going for a walk."

"I'd love to, _actually_. Can I stop at home to drop my bag off?" He took it from my shoulder and rested it back on the couch.

"Leave it. We'll come back for it."

"Okay."

"You ready?" I nodded. "C'mon."

I said my goodnights to my other group members and then Robin and I started across the wide field to the roadway. There was silence for almost a whole five minutes and we were running out of field to walk through. Things were getting awkward. Robin sighed and I looked across at him. His expression looked like he had been thinking the same thing and I offered him a half smile which he returned.

"Weird, isn't it?" I said.

"Yeah. It's never been like this between us."

"Well, you've never kissed me and told me that you like me before."

"Maybe…maybe I shouldn't have," he said softly. I pursed my lips.

"Why?"

"I mean, look at how things have gotten. I noticed that you seemed distracted during the fights today and now, here we are, walking through this huge field in complete silence, nothing to say. That's not how things are supposed to be. You can't ever shut up and I enjoy talking to you and we're supposed to still be so comfortable around each other. I think I went and ruined everything." I scoffed and his gaze moved from the grass back to me and held there. "What?"

"I get that you're edgy about this. I am, too. I think things are awkward now because it's just beginning. I'm sure things will be back to normal in no time. We're still best friends. You're still probably always gonna save my ass all the time and I'm still going to make fun of you all the freaking time. We've just got to find our footing."

"You're probably right. I hope you're right. But whatever happens, let's promise to stay friends, okay?" I smiled.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." We came to the road and stopped at the side. "What should we do now?"

"Well, are you hungry?"

"Only always."

"Pizza?"

"Definitely."

We grabbed the first taxi that came and headed to the pizzeria closer to the heart of the town. Robin and I, after a certain amount of debate, agreed to split the bill evenly and we took a seat after our order was placed at the table we'd indicated the waitress to bring it to.

"Tanya and I come here occasionally because their prices are good and the food is better," I started when we were seated. I wasn't too sure what there was to talk about and, thus, I was forced to go out on a limb and just mention anything in hopes that it would turn into a conversation.

"She's a pretty interesting character, Tanya. How long have you been friends?"

"Since junior high started. Half way into the first term, she dropped her books because she was trying to balance them in one hand because the other was in a brace. I happened to be there so I picked it up for her and told her I'd carry them to her class for her." His eyebrows raised. He hadn't missed that I had said that I _told_ her, not offered, that I'd take her books to class for her. "So, we started talking, since we had had a few classes together and, bam, instant friends. We weren't the most popular kids. I was the only one from my elementary school and she wasn't exactly a social butterfly. She used to be very shy. She's a lot more forward now. She kind of clung to me a little after I helped her with her books. She would look for me at lunch and sit next to me during classes and stuff. I didn't have a problem with it. I just thought it was kind of cute and that if I had one friend, I was lucky."

The waitress came with the pizza and I grabbed a slice right away. He chuckled and went for one as well.

"How come you hadn't known that she was in trouble when her dad had asked you to intervene?"

"I had known that something was going on, I just wasn't exactly sure what it was. We were friends but not exactly best friends at that point. She wasn't sure if she could open up to me about certain things. After that was when we really became best friends and she started telling me just about everything, after I became like her bodyguard."

"Oh. To be honest, though, she didn't seem like she'd be that much trouble looking out for."

"Yeah, that's now. She's amazingly sharp when it comes to matters about other people. Herself, not so much. That's where I come in. I hear things, _see_ things, so I know exactly who's trouble and who's not. All the guys that have come her way were trouble. She puts on the airs of a proud ballerina but she's actually very insecure. When guys give her attention, she's likely to think that she's falling for them because they've bothered to look in her direction." I exhaled and reached for my second slice. "She's a really great girl though and she deserves better than those punks who try to get with her to win a bet. They like to test _my_ limits because they know I can pretty much take all the guys in the school and they use _her_ to get to me. Strange how that works. I protected her and then they start using her as a ploy to get to me. But they've only attempted something like that twice. After I strung up Allister Brody by his skivvies from the dumpster, they've quelled their needs to get back at me for totally humiliating the first guy to mess with her and intimidating the rest of the male and female students of the school back into line."

And then the pizza was gone.

"Shall we get out of here and go walk all this food off?" he proposed.

"Sure." He signalled the waitress and we left our money on the table as we left. We started walking down the pavements and I put my hands in my jacket pockets. It was getting rather chilly for a summer night.

"Do you guys fight a lot?" he asked.

"Nah. We have a lot of serious discussions about things like the future and that's when her true brilliance really comes out. My friendship with Tanya was what I would call typically atypical. She's the more girly one who loves to wear nice dresses, loves soap operas and romantic, supernatural teenage shows. I'm the tee-shirt and jeans type of girl who prefers to bury herself in fictitious books, manga, anime and cartoons of all sorts rather than watching live-action shows. We have music and values in common though. Despite our differences, I guess our fundamental common morals and values are what make it easy for us to get along. Kind of like how things are between us." I looked over at him. "I guess you couldn't tell me about your friends if you wanted to, could you?"

"Honestly, there actually isn't that much to tell. I have lots of _acquaintances_ but few _friends_. Wally's one of the few and we're only friends because of our common...well, you know. If it weren't for our mentors, we wouldn't be friends. And it's a stilted kind of thing, when you really think about it, because he doesn't really know who I am." He gave me a serious look. "Kind of like how things are with us."

A light went off in my head and I remembered him talking about how he was scared to death when he'd called me the same night all of this had happened.

"That's why you're scared. You're afraid this will all go horribly to hell because you've got to keep your secrets." He gave me a weak smile and put his hands in his own jacket pockets.

"Nothing escapes you, does it?" I shrugged. I took my left hand from my pocket and looped my arm through his before placing my hand back into its previous place. A moment of silence drifted as I turned over what he had said in my head.

"Tanya and I were talking about this." His head snapped over to me, looking slightly wary. "Of course I didn't tell her everything. All I told her was that you kind of kept your distance and I was willing to let you have that. What I'm trying to say is that this doesn't have to be a problem if you don't want it to be. You're scared that your secrets will ruin things or that you'll get forced into a position to disobey your superior. And me, I'm scared you're going to hurt me without even really meaning to." I looked back over to him. His forehead wrinkled.

"I would never hurt you."

"Not intentionally, you wouldn't. But shit happens." He opened his mouth as if to protest but then closed it. He was realising that I was right.

"I feel like it's kind of unfair to you, you know. You're my girlfriend but you're Robin's girlfriend not Ri—the other guy's."

"Like I'm dating half a man."

"Exactly."

"It's okay. You'll grow and then you'll be a whole one." He frowned.

"You know I'm not talking about height, Hy." I chuckled.

"Lighten up. We shouldn't worry about things like that. I'm willing to give you your space. Whether or not you'll tell me someday your real identity, I'll leave you and the head honcho to quarrel about that. Not like they can ban us from dating."

"They could kick you off the team if they think it's jeopardising our missions."

"That still won't stop me from dating you. Whether or not it will stop _you_..." Silence hung in the air, not real, complete silence, but just the silence between us. The city noises were all around us as we entered the park. There were few people in the park, couples, some just walking, some on the benches fiercely making out, forcing me to suppress making a face, and few other people just walking around aimlessly or taking photographs.

We continued to walk in the somewhat-silence until we made our way to the centre of the vast park, past the large lighted fountain.

"You never told me you wanted to be a fashion designer," he said finally. I shrugged at the change of subject.

"It never came up before."

"Sounds like you've got your whole life planned out." I shrugged again.

"Tentatively. Things have a funny way of changing, life likes to"—I pursed my lips, realising what reference I was about to draw—"throw curve balls."

"Tell me about your plans." I chuckled.

"After high school, I'm going to design school hopefully."

"Sounds exciting."

"Except for the fact that it's in Atlanta and I'll have to leave everything behind." He looked at me for a long moment.

"Us included." I nodded.

"Probably. What about you though? I figure you're going to go to, like, MIT or something and make Bill Gates eat your dust." I thought he would have at least chuckled but he didn't. Now he was dead serious. He shrugged.

"I really don't have it all figured out yet. I've been focusing on trying to keep cities safe and I really just haven't had the time to really think about it. I plan on going to university but I'm not really sure about the career part. Like you said, life likes to throw curve balls." I took my hand out of my pocket and rubbed his arm a few times before replacing it.

"Life throws good curve balls, too." He gave me this incredulous, 'like what?' look. "You were my curve ball." He frowned.

"I'm not getting the point here. I don't see how exactly that one goes into the plus column."

"I was going to let you go to that girl whom I thought you liked. I was going to try to fight down my feelings and forget them. But then you tackled me in the field and told me that it was me that you wanted. I wasn't really prepared for that one. But it was a _good_ curve ball. I got what I wanted."

"Yeah but given the kind of complications that could occur—"

"Complications, smomplications. Forget about 'em. Let's just enjoy right now. And if things start to get intense, we'll try to work it out. If things get really heated, we can stop dating. Once we come to a point where we can remain friends, everything will be fine. For instance, the awkwardness between us has smoothened out, hasn't it? We're actually talking now." A smile started to spread across his face like a sunrise.

"You're right. I'm just psyching myself out." I nodded.

"Exactly. Chill. If it was meant to be, it will."

"I think we'll have to work at it, not just have faith, Hy."

"Having faith doesn't mean sitting idly waiting for things to happen, you know. It's doing what you truly believe to be right and doing everything that you can while trusting that the outcome will be the best one." He stopped and took his hands out of his pockets, turning to face me with a happy smile on his face again.

"Thanks, Hy." I put my arms around him and held him tightly for a moment. His arms came around me without hesitation. There, in that embrace, I felt that everything really would be okay.

We linked our arms, hands back in our pockets and started walking again.

"So, how long do we plan to keep this a secret from everyone?" he asked me. I laughed.

"Well, do you think we should just come out and tell them?"

"I...don't think we need to. I mean, given the fact that some people may disapprove..." I laughed again.

"So we'll keep it a secret as long as it's a secret. I'm not going to lie about it so if we get caught, that's it."

"I think I can agree with that. I don't care what anyone says, though. I think dating you is worthwhile so I will. Not even Batman can stop me." His gaze fixed on me as we started on the pavement away from the park. "I'll tell you someday, Hy. I won't leave you in the dark forever. You deserve better than that."

"I think," I said after giving it a few long seconds of thought, "it really isn't as horrible as you make it out to be. The person you are shows through no matter if you're wearing a mask or shades or whether people can see your eyes. Your personality, your sense of humour, your beliefs, values, that's what's really important, not the name you carry, the people you live with or what school you go to. I'm more interested in you than your background, if you can understand me. Do you get what I mean?"

"I think so. But isn't background all part of who a person is?"

"Sure. But when people know the background, they can also succumb to stereotyping, premature judging and all that crap. I've experienced you outside of that so that what I've really been analysing is you yourself. To me, you're Robin, the guy who risks his own neck to save people and who's there for his friends, is super smart and love video games, just to name a few things. I haven't assigned other tags to you based on where you're from, where you live or with whom you live. It's just you. And I like what I see. I like who you are and that's enough for me for now. I'm just happy that you're here, with me"

"We can get to the your-place-or-my-place arguments later, right?" His smile was mischievous and I elbowed him lightly and laughed.

"Pervert."

"Takes one to know one."

"That is very true." He laughed.

"You're not even going to attempt to deny that you're a pervert?"

"Why lie?" He laughed again.

"This is how it should be," he said after his laughter quelled. "It should just be normal between us. We should just be able to talk and argue and make fun of each other like we used to."

"I'm still your best friend, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, you can still talk to me about anything if you need to. Trust me, even some things you _think_ you can't talk to me about, you probably can. Jason made sure to orient me well in what would be considered typical teenage guy stuff." He raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly how badly did he scar you?" I giggled.

"Not really badly. I've never _seen_ anything firsthand, really, but he used to talk to me very freely, more freely than I think would be acceptable by normal standards."

"So what's _his_ story?"

"Well, aren't we curious. Jason Guerreton was two years older than me and he lived next door to us with his mom, Aunt Francine. His dad had walked out on them when he found out she was pregnant. As soon as I was able to run around and make friends, Jason and I became friends. We watched a lot of cartoons and anime together and he really got me into music. Even as a kid, his language was really bad though. I get my cursing problem from him, although he was about four times worse, especially when he was angry. He was the dictionary definition of a delinquent, avoiding homework and skipping classes but he was dependable like no other. He was there for me and we were comfortable around each other enough to talk about any and everything. He was great...in an unorthodox way. He was a good kid with some bad habits."

"You liked him, didn't you?" I gave him a small smile.

"Nothing escapes you, does it?"

"No, nothing does." I elbowed him and he chuckled.

"When I was thirteen, he moved away. His mom got a job in North Dakota that paid twice her current job and she jumped at the opportunity. Jason was really mad at her and I tried to explain that it was for the best for both of them and he got mad at me for not being against it like he was and for siding with his mom. He broke his leg a week before the move. He was mad at me for the full two weeks he had next door to us left. I still tried to help him out even though he wouldn't talk to me. I found out a few days after he left that he had liked me, too. But it was too late. We were too far away from each other and, in my opinion, neither of us would have been ready for a relationship."

"Do you miss him?" I pondered the question for half a minute.

"Not really."

"Not really?"

"He stopped writing, like, two months after they moved. I thought maybe it was something I said but he never replied so I still don't really know why. I missed him a lot at first but things moved on and we grew apart since he wasn't writing anymore. If I met him today, I'm sure I probably wouldn't be able to recognise him, or he probably wouldn't recognise me."

"Are you still mad at him for being such an idiot?" I chuckled.

"No. I was never actually mad at him. He was mad at me and it irritated me because I didn't think I did anything wrong. But he moved away and I moved on and let go of my irritation. When it boiled down, he was best friend and I was cut off from him. It was time to let go and move forward." He was silent for a few seconds and I looked over to him. His face turned towards me.

"I'm glad he left."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because now _I_ have you." I felt something warm and fuzzy inside of me and I gave him a smile and elbowed him slightly. "I'm serious. If he had stayed, there's a chance that, eventually, you two would have gotten together. Even if you had still met me, you would have been harbouring feelings for him and you may not have started liking me. You may not have even been the same person you are now. And then this poor little birdy would have been all alone." I chuckled.

"You're such a drama queen. You can't be that happy to be dating me. And then there's Megan." He stopped.

"But I am. I've never liked a girl as much as I like you. That thing with Megan, it's all typical teenage boy behaviour; you know, flirting with the pretty girl because you can. You, you're different." I turned to face him.

"How am I so different?" I asked, smiling. He pulled me closer to him by the wrists and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You're charismatic and free-minded. You're loud-mouthed, intelligent and awesome in your own right. You're pretty and you tie your hair up a lot, not like other girls who try to hide behind their hair. I like how you look with your hair out, though, don't get me wrong." I hadn't realised it before but my hair had been out the whole time. "You're confident. You're bold. You're passionate and self-sacrificing. Megan may be some of those things but she's not all of them the way you are. That why I like _you_. Not all of the reasons, but some." The feelings that were welling up at hearing him describe me so positively and marvellously put an idea in my head but before I could act, his lips were on mine already and my insides began to feel like a soda that had been shaken up. My hands got out of my pockets and came to rest on his shoulders. His kiss was careful and innocent, just like he was, like we both were, and I liked it.

He pulled back not long after and gave me a small, happy smile.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked. I returned his smile and gave a small laugh.

"Yes. Yes, it does." He placed another short, delicate kiss to my lips but didn't let me go. He just rested his cheek against mine and played with the ends of my hair close to his fingers.

And then my phone rang and I wanted to fling it into the fountain.

"That's probably mommy," I said with a sigh.

"Go on. Answer it."

"Nah."

"Answer your phone, Hyacinth."

"Alright, fine." I said, reaching for the phone and opening it while he still held me. "Hi, mom."

"How's practice, dear? It's getting kind of late. Usually you call between practice and patrols."

"Actually, I was just hanging out with Robin."

"Oh." There was no immediately accompanying string of conversation after her 'oh' and I realised she was surprised. There were several seconds of silence and I was about to check if the call was still connected when she finally spoke. "Tell him I say 'hi' please. Where are you?"

"We just left the park a little while ago."

"Oh, alright. I...I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Sorry I worried you, mom."

"It's alright. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah. Bye, mom."

"Bye, sweetie." I snapped the phone shut, replaced it to my pocket and shook my shoulders.

"Mom says 'hi'. She probably wanted to talk to you but didn't want to admit it." He chuckled.

"Is she that fond of me?"

"Yes. She _loves_ you." He laughed. "Anyway, I think you're wrong about what might have happened if he had stayed."

"How do _you_ think it would have played out?"

"I think even if we were together, when I met you, I would have realised that he wasn't the one for me. I think hanging out with you would have led to me outgrowing him. I would have developed a crush on you anyway and then things would have gotten complicated between me and him and then we would fight, break up and then you'd be the one comforting me and then we would have gotten together. Besides, I've had this little crush on you for yea—Never mind." He released me with a small laugh.

"What was that just now?"

"Nothing." He nudged me.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"_No_!" I started running back towards the park, towards the area where the bulk of the trees were but, in almost no time, he had caught up and pinned me against a tree. I was laughing and so was he and I was feeling so good, so free. When the laughing stopped, he stepped back from me, hands back in his pockets and I turned to face him.

"Why won't you tell me?" he asked. I shielded my eyes from him.

"It's embarrassing." He removed the hand over my eyes and pulled me close to him, hands around my waist again.

"Oh, come on. I just blurted out all that sappy stuff about why I like you. Can't you confess one little thing to me?" I tried to frown at him but I couldn't.

"I don't think I like you playing that card. How am I supposed to say no to that?" He brushed a few strands of hair back towards my hairline and off of my forehead and his hand returned to my waist.

"I won't laugh. I promise." I gave him a long look and knew I was completely defenceless.

"I've had a little crush on you since I became aware your very existence. I always thought you were amazing and I figured you must have been a pretty cool guy. Jason used to tease me about it but then I would tease him back because he used to say that Wonder Woman would marry him someday and that she just didn't know it." There was a little silence and then he started to laugh a little. "Hey, I thought you said you wouldn't laugh!" I slapped him on his bicep which was harder than I had thought.

"Ow. I'm not laughing at you. It's just cute. I'm so flattered that it makes me laugh."

"That's a bad cover," I said dryly.

"No, I'm serious. It's cute. It's kind of like how I liked you from the moment I met you. Not, like, _liked you_ liked you but, you know, I thought you were pretty cool, too." I gave him a smile.

"Thanks." He pressed a brief kiss to my lips and pulled back.

"No problem." I kissed him again, this time longer.

I heard a chuckle that made my blood get cold and that prompted our lips apart. We turned towards the sound and saw a dirty-looking fellow with a knife in his hand, a hood over his head which was covered with a baseball cap and his knife hand wrapped with a bandage.

"Ain't that cute. Now gimme your money and your phones and you won't get hurt," the man said, an ugly grin on his face. A ghost of the fear that I used to feel crawled down my spine as I started to approach him, reaching into my pocket as if to hand him my phone. Suddenly, I rushed him, throwing him backwards and then kicked the knife out of his hand. Robin came from behind him—I hadn't even seen when he'd moved from behind me—and rolled him on his stomach, binding his hands with a cord that came from God alone knew where and then eventually pulling him up, towards a tree to tie him to it. I struck him in the crook of his neck and he went unconscious. Robin touched his communicator and made a report to someone in the police station to come for the guy. Just as he was done and was turning back to me, he was summoned by Batman from his comm and from the gist of it, he was needed elsewhere.

He turned back to me and gave me a half smile.

"That was The Bat. I've got to go," he said.

"I figured. I should get home, too." He offered me his hand and I took it and he turned and kissed me.

"Come on. Let's run for it." We started running and I felt myself laughing again, feeling so free with him, running through the park. We probably looked crazy. It was sort of true anyway. I _was_ crazy. For him, anyway.

**Not my favourite chapter but it keeps things moving, I think. Next chapter I'll try to get things back to normal again.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I apologise in advance for this chapter and I also apologise profusely for the long wait. I've been doing some school preparations and then got roped in by anime, manga and Korean dramas (amazing stuff, by the way, even if people may regard it as corny). Long story short, I'm a slacker and I know you guys deserve better. But, have no fear! School starts back in a week and a half so I should be able to do some writing then. Truth be told, I write best when under stress and have no time to do so. I make time to write. Not that that matters…Shutting up now and getting to the chapter…**

**Oh, and shout-out to my new friend, Roseglass, and to algie888 for giving me a good kick in the pants to get back to the story.**

**Sorry, again, but I hope you adjust to the minor paragraph changes from what you're accustomed to. An editor told me that this is the way it's done. Okay, really going away now…**

Sunday came around far too fast. We had no training so it was the usual finish-homework-go-to-church-then-patrol routine. There wasn't too much trouble that night, just a few muggers out, and with my new fan-dangled training, handling them was a cinch. I wished just a little bit that mom could have seen me; I knew she would have been so proud. I walked through the door and smiled as I saw her in the kitchen, busily chopping vegetables.

"Hey, Hy," she said.

"Hi, mom. What's on the menu?"

"Um, steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes and stewed chicken."

"Mmm. I'm getting hungry just hearing you talk about it."

She laughed. "You're always hungry. That doesn't say much. Ooh, that reminds me. I wanted to ask you about yesterday."

"Yeah?"

"Where did you and Robin go hanging out?"

"Oh, we went to Mel's for pizza and then we took a walk to the park and came back."

"I noticed that he didn't walk you home yesterday, like he usually does."

"Oh, he did. He just had to run so we parted ways at the front door of the building."

She raised her eyebrows for a moment. "Oh. Alright. It was just you and him?"

I chuckled. "Yeah." I was tempted to ask, 'where are you going with this', but then I changed my mind.

"That's nice. I think it's great that you've found someone you can be close with." I could practically read her mind and see that she was thinking about Jason. She probably thought it was good that, after all this time, I could find someone to replace him.

She finished her chopping and put the veggies into some plastic bags and put them in the fridge and took the knife to the sink.

"How's the training going?"

"It's going great, mom. I wish you could have seen me tonight. I've learnt some new things and it was easier than ever tonight to take down the punk muggers. I can feel myself growing stronger, mom. I actually feel capable."

She smiled at me. "That's great, baby. I think I feel stronger, too, knowing that you're being guided and taught and that you have friends to watch your back. Speaking of which, when are we having you friends over for dinner? How about this Saturday?"

"Saturday? Aren't we having Robin over Friday for dinner?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you really want to have company on two consecutive days?"

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "Alright. Oh, by the way, did I mention Tanya has a show this Friday, too?"

Her eyebrows rose again. "How are you manoeuvring that, with dinner on Friday?"

"Late dinner a bad idea?"

"Ah, so you thought of that. Nah, nothing's wrong with it if his guardian will let him stay out that long."

I chuckled. "I think he'll be okay with it."

"Just as long as he is. Make sure. Why don't you take him to the show?"

I shrugged. "I wonder if he'd want to go."

"He's your boyfriend. He has to."

My eyes flitted to her in an instant. "How did you know that?"

She laughed. "Baby, I know everything. I knew it was just a matter of time. You two have always been together."

"I'm not following. We only officially began dating, say, Friday."

She shook her head and smiled. "You two might have begun dating on Friday, but you two have been together _way_ before that. It was just obvious by the way you two banter and how well you get along that there was something between you. From the first moment that he walked into our apartment, I knew that you two were together. You were just on the same wavelength, like you just got each other."

"Wait a minute. So, you knew before I did that I had a serious, not-so-minor or ridiculous crush on him and that we had some serious chemistry going on?"

"Yup."

"You didn't think that was important to mention to me?"

"I knew you'd figure it out when you were ready."

"And do you approve?"

"Most certainly."

"Really?"

"Do you want me to say no?"

"No. I'm just surprised."

She placed her hands on my shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "Honey, I know you two are…connected. I understand that. I may not know everything about him but I just know that he's a good boy. And you like him, so I can't get in the way of that. You need to decide for yourself if it's right or wrong and, if it's wrong, you've got to learn from your mistakes. I can't protect you forever. I know that."

I hugged my mom as tightly as was comfortable and I breathed in the clean scent of her shirt. I felt like a teenager who wanted to cling onto their mommy a while longer, a teenager who didn't want her mommy to acknowledge that she was growing up and that she had to let go of her girl some time, and who didn't want to acknowledge those facts either.

"I love you, mom. Thanks for being totally awesome."

She snickered. "You're welcome. You and your sister make it so that I don't have to try. I'm blessed to have such great kids." She patted my back and let go of me. "Go have a nice shower. I'm sure you must be tired."

"Just a little. But you're right. Where's January?"

"She and her dad are playing chess."

I raised one eyebrow. "Chess?"

She nodded. "You dad's teaching her. Her friend, Vivec, wanted her to learn how to play."

"Vivec? Is he Indian?"

She laughed. "Does it matter?"

"No. Just curious. I wanted to know if they're Indian like our cousins in Trinidad."

"I actually asked the same thing though. He's not Indian. Just a normal American kid."

"Hm. Interesting. Anyway, to the showers I go."

"Alright, hon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, mom." I lingered in the kitchen a second longer as a thought came to me. "Does dad know?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No. That's for you to do."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

After I was clean and in some more homey clothes, I sought out my dad and my sister and found them in her room, concentrating deeply on the board between them on the bed. I smiled and knocked on the door post. Dad offered me a warm smile.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you?" he said.

"I'm good, dad. Who's winning?"

"Dad, of course," January replied, "but I'm learning as I go."

"You'll have it down in no time," I reassured her. "You're a smart kid, Jani."

"Thanks, Hy."

I walked over to them both, kissed Jani's forehead and gave my dad a hug. "I'm heading to bed now."

"Are you now? It's only—" dad checked his watch, "—whoa, it's almost midnight. We should both get to bed, shouldn't we?" he asked Jani.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Hy."

"Night, guys. See you in the morning."

Just as I closed my bedroom door behind me, my phone rang and I answered it almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"Oh, good, you're up. I was hoping you weren't asleep yet."

I smiled. "Hey, Rob. What's up?"

"Nothing." He paused and I wondered if everything was okay. "I just wanted to call you, that's all."

I chuckled. "That's sweet. Thank you. And thanks for taking me out on Saturday."

"I'm sorry we were interrupted."

"It's okay. Duty called. It's not a problem."

"For now. I really hope it doesn't become one." I wanted to say 'it won't' but I wasn't sure if I would have been lying or not.

"I still enjoyed our date."

"That's great to hear. When do you want to go out again?"

"What are you doing Friday night?"

"I'm having dinner at my girlfriend's house with her family."

I cracked a smile. "Before that."

"Nothing but training, I think. Where do you want to go?"

"Tanya has a ballet recital and I was thinking we could go show some support."

"Sounds great. What time?"

"Seven p.m."

"Semi formal?"

"I think so."

"Great. It's a date."

I gave a small laugh. Somehow, the thought of that made me feel good. "I like the sound of that. Are you sure your guardian won't mind you being out so late?"

"I'm sure. He's not the type to make a big deal out of things like this. The only thing is that if the Bat calls, I gotta go"

"Oh. Okay." Silence floated for a few seconds and I wondered what his facial expression looked like, if he was trying to think up what to say or if something had caught his attention or if he was worrying about something.

"I'm really sorry about how our date ended, though. It probably wasn't romantic at all."

I laughed a little. "Look, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it suited us."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The whole chasing me and pinning me to a tree and the beating up the mugger and the kisses and hugs and conversation and pizza, that's all us. It was fitting. I liked it. And what was most important was that we got to spend time together."

He laughed. "You're a strange one, you are, Hyacinth. But I guess I wouldn't have you any other way."

I laughed. "Glad to know." I yawned.

"You're tired. We should go to bed. School tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight, Hy. See you tomorrow after school?"

"Of course. Goodnight, Rob." The call ended and I sighed in contentment. I laughed at myself for being so movie-cliché. I crawled into bed and somewhere, in the middle of my prayers, I fell asleep.

I should have been so tired the next morning. I wasn't. I was just looking forward to seeing Robin after school. I ended up whistling as I walked through the halls at school towards my locker. Just as I reached it, Tanya grabbed me.

"So what happened after I left?" she asked, right away.

"Good morning to you, too," I said, laughing.

"Answer the question. You didn't call me once this weekend to tell me what happened."

"Well, _I'm_ sorry. I just thought nothing worth mentioning happened. After you left, we went to meet up with some of our other friends and then afterwards, Robin and I went on a date."

"That's not worth mentioning?"

"I thought that was normal relationship stuff. Didn't think that was news worthy."

"You're a new couple. I'll tell you when you can stop calling to tell me about that stuff."

"O...kay."

"So, where did you go?"

"Mel's. Then we went for a walk in the park."

"Ooh. What did you do at the park?"

"Talk mostly."

"And the other stuff?"

"He chased me through the park and he kissed me a few times. But, really, we spent nine-tenths of the time talking."

"It sounds nice."

"It was. It felt normal, natural. Just as natural as our friendship."

"Do you think you want your relationship to be just like your friendship?"

"Well, yeah, for the most part. I want us to have the same closeness, the same openness, with the exception that there's a greater loyalty involved and a degree of exclusivity."

"Do your parents know?"

"Mom knows. Dad doesn't. Jani...I don't think she knows either. She'll be mad when she finds out."

"She'll get over it when she realises how deeply in l—" I shot her a look which served to cut the sentence short. "Sorry. Never mind. But she'll realise you two work a lot better."

"Speaking of which, you remember the tickets you wanted me to help you get rid of?"

"Yeah?"

"He'll be coming with me on Friday."

Her eyebrows rose. "Oh. Wow. Cool. Can't wait."

"We can't stay long after, though. We have dinner with my family after."

"Well, he's moving up the ladder quickly. Dinner with the in-laws already?"

I nudged her with an elbow. "You're ridiculous."

"Very true. Did you study for the Lit exam this morning?"

"Not really. I was really busy this weekend."

"Good thing you're good at Literature."

"Yeah, but I'm not good at Civics."

"Hmm. Good luck."

"You, too."

I walked out of school thinking that I probably didn't badly fail anything but I hadn't done as good in the other subjects as I had in Lit. Then I caught sight of Robin. Bye-bye, exam thoughts. He was smiling. I smiled back. Funny how he so easily made me feel better.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. How was your day?"

He shrugged. "Same old, same old. Yours?"

"Worrisome somewhat."

"Exams?"

"Yup."

"And you didn't get in much study time, did you?"

"Nope."

"Did you fail anything?"

"Don't think so."

"Then you're okay."

"Probably. I could've done better though."

He scoffed. "And you call me the overachiever."

"Because you are. I accept the fact that I am no good at Math and that I'm not interested in Civics enough to learn much of it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Given what you do for fun with us, that's surprising. I'd have thought it would be more interesting to you. I suppose maybe you just like the running around in costume and kicking butt."

"I wouldn't say that. I think my teacher ruined it for me. He's so boring that someone said they'd attempt suicide if it would get them out of that class for the rest of the year."

He chuckled. I revelled in the sound of it. "Kinda drastic, don't you think?"

"Yeah but I don't think you've ever been taught by that guy."

"True. As a side note, I'm kinda excited about dinner on Friday."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to tell my dad and sister?"

Sharp as a tack, he picked up immediately what I was insinuating. "Your mom knows."

"She saw it coming from the moment you walked into our apartment for the first time."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah. Be careful. She's perceptive, perspicacious and very, very clever."

He laughed. "Who uses words like that?"

I elbowed him slightly. "Shut up. I like big words, okay? If you don't understand the word, just say so."

"I know what it means. I'm just pointing out the fact that you're a total alien for a teenager."

I laughed. "We all know you like aliens."

He elbowed back. "Lucky for you, then."

"Yeah. Lucky me." A comfortable silence drifted between us. I opened my mouth to say something but my phone rang, deleting the thought from my mind. "Hello?"

"You've never changed your phone number, have you?"

I almost dropped the phone. I stopped where I was and Robin gave me a curious look.

"Hi…Jason." I could swear I saw Robin's eyes widen at the sound of his name.

Jason laughed. "You don't sound happy to hear from me."

"It's been three years."

"Yeah, about that, I'm really sorry. Things were kind of crazy when we moved…" I waited for him to continue but there was a long silence. Then, finally, "Look, I'm visiting Happy Harbour this week. I was hoping I could see you. Maybe we could go out." He sounded more like he was asking rather than suggesting.

My eyes immediately flicked to the person with whom I was walking. He had that calm expression people wore when they weren't calm at all. "Jase, I don't know. Things are kind of crazy these days and I don't get home till late."

"Can I meet you somewhere?"

"Not exactly. How long are you staying?"

"Maybe until next week Monday. Hy, I don't like the way that I left you last time. I really want to make it up to you. I want to see…if there's still something between us."

I glanced at Robin. He seemed to be getting a little bit twitchy. "Look, Jase. It's really nice that you called, I appreciate it, but I've got to go now. There's somewhere that I need to be."

"Oh, okay. Will you at least call me later, if you can meet me?"

I sighed. "Sure, Jase. I'll give you a call."

"Thanks, Hy. See you around. I love you."

The phone cut off. I almost felt like I'd just been hit by lightning. _'I love you'?_ The look on my face must have given me away because after a few seconds that felt like an hour, Robin shook my shoulder.

"Hy? What's wrong?"

"N—"

"Don't you dare tell me it's nothing." I looked at him for a long time and he probably saw the complete and utter shock in my eyes. He pulled me into his arms, closer, and put his lips to my forehead. I wondered when he had gotten tall enough to do that, but the thought just flew through my head as the memory of Jason's words chased it away to take its place. "Come on, Hy. I'm your best friend—your boyfriend. You know you can tell me anything."

I wondered if I should tell him. I knew I was in that horribly complex state of confusion again, where I had many different opposing thoughts braiding and knitting together to form a complex web of situations. But Robin was right. He was now my boyfriend. He could not afford to be completely honest with me, but that didn't mean that I should keep secrets from him. If I did, and things got out in the wrong way, they could be misinterpreted and I could be what ruined our relationship. It occurred to me as a stray thought that I hadn't even asked Jase why he was in town. I doubted wholeheartedly, with a side of consideration, that he had come for me.

"Rob." He gave me a little squeeze to let me know he was listening. "Jason's in town."


	22. Chapter 22

**I APOLOGISE A MILLION TIMES! I'M SO SORRY.**

**School has restarted. Things have gotten super busy. I need to get reconnected to my story and to organise myself better. Please accept this chapter as a humble apology. Also, kindly do not hate Hy in this chapter.**

I thought I felt Robin stiffen slightly. When he pulled back from me, he looked as if he was trying to appear cool about it.

"Is he, now?" he asked. He didn't like it. I could tell. I nodded. "Well, what about it?"

"He wants to meet with me."

"After all this time?"

"Yeah."

His eyes seemed to stay focused on me for a long time and then he forced a little smile. Who did he think he was fooling with that? "What's the big deal about it?"

I hesitated. "He wants to see if there's still something between us."

"Is there?" I wanted to turn away but he put his hand beneath my jaw and made me look at him. Damn mature, perceptive, amazing fourteen-year-old Boy Wonder.

"I don't know."

He swallowed. That made him uncomfortable. It made me uncomfortable, too. I found my hands and twined them with his. "Look—"

"Let's just go before we get in trouble. We can talk about this later." He extracted his hands from mine and walked off. He wasn't happy. I was burning and confused. I also had a bad feeling that something worse was coming.

"Do you want to see him?" he asked, just as we started walking into The Cave.

"What?"

"Do you want to see him?"

I took a second, wondering what was the right way to answer that question. "He was my best friend, Rob."

"He didn't contact you for three years! Most people would acknowledge that as being thrown away."

"He said things were tough after they moved."

"Did he break both his hands?"

"I don't know!"

"So he couldn't call, even though it seems he knew your number all this time, he couldn't write, couldn't email, could write on your damn _Facebook_ Wall, nothing, but the moment he does actually call, you're ready to make it like everything's okay again?"

"I never said everything was okay. He wanted to see me!"

"To see if anything was still going on between you two. You don't even know the answer to that one! Are you curious, too?"

"Why are you getting all worked up about this?"

"Because, I think maybe you should value yourself a little bit more. Don't give idiots who abandon you the time of day. If you had an inch of self respect, you'd see that."

"What the hell are you insinuating about me?"

"That you're blind and can't see when it's time to let go of something that's not good for you. If the leg is bad, you amputate."

"You think living with prosthetics makes it all better?"

He stopped. His face seemed to become surprised, then angrier, then dark. "Stubborn people who hold on just die," he said in a low, almost inaudible voice. "Since you hate it so much, maybe I'll just leave you alone."

I froze. He walked off. What had I just insinuated to him? I'd lashed out. I didn't mean it. I looked at his face and I realised that he didn't want to hear anything I had to say.

I was on my back and in pain. I didn't care to fight it too much. I couldn't put anything into it, not like he was. I couldn't make a move to stop it. Because the ghost of what I'd said and knowing that he had been hurt prevented me from blocking each hit properly, from dodging, from striking, from winning. I had already lost and he was already walking away. And I was just planning to stay there on the floor.

"Hyacinth!" Canary's voice sounded harsh, like I was about to get the worst tongue lashing I'd ever gotten. It would feel like the worst because I already felt bruised and battered. I got up and started walking over to her. "Just what the hell do you think you were doing there? Did you lose your nerve? You can't afford to do that! Whatever the hell is bothering you, deal with it. If you're going to let yourself be this distracted, I'm going to have to rescind my vote to have you on this team."

I couldn't even look her in the face. "You're right. I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again."

"It better not. We can't afford to have your blood on our hands because you weren't paying attention or giving it your best because you've got something bothering you. Separate your private life from your duty. Cin and Hyacinth cannot be the same person." She started to walk away.

"Isn't that a little bit stupid?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around. "What?"

"Isn't that stupid? If Cin and Hy aren't the same person, how does Cin know when to stop and how far to go? Cin is just an alias fighting. If she doesn't borrow on Hy's values and knowledge, then she's just a robot that mindlessly goes around kicking ass. Without Hy's motivation, she has no drive and no purpose." Canary just stared at me with a serious look that would have made me flinch if I wasn't so stubborn.

"Apparently, Canary's words are beyond you. Since you're not a robot, you should know what to keep and what to throw away when you wear that mask. Anyone who's too stupid to know where to draw the line doesn't belong here," Robin said acidly.

"Robin—" Kaldur started to reprimand him.

"No, Kal. He's right. I apologise for my outburst. I'll try to do better from now on." My phone rang. I used it as an excuse to run away. "I need to get that. Excuse me." I heard Robin's scoff as I walked away and tried my best not to pay it mind. But my best just wasn't enough.

When I picked my stuff up after I'd changed, Robin gave a brief yet distinctly cold look to say 'come on'. He was listening to an MP3 Player and the volume was up really loud. He couldn't have said 'I don't want to talk to you' any better if he had opened his mouth to say it. We never really spoke when we were on the bike but we used to definitely talk before and after we got off. He didn't even look in my direction. He was so disgusted.

I got off the bike and he fiddled with his MP3 Player for a moment before proceeding to leave again without a word. I put a hand over his to stop him and he looked at me.

"Can you listen to me for just a sec?" I mouthed. I knew he understood me. He took the earphones out and just gave me a blank, cold expression. It hurt. "Look, I know what I said earlier hurt you. I didn't mean that you were just a poor substitute. I was a bit mad and it just flew out. You've got to know that you mean a lot to me—"

"Maybe, but I'm not the only one. I noticed that you didn't even mention to him that you had a boyfriend. Instead, you just started to wonder, too, if he still meant something to you." I opened my mouth to stop him but no words came out. He hadn't said anything wrong. He exhaled. "You know what, it's fine. I'll let you go so you can find out what's going on. I'll just leave it to you." And then his earphones were back in and he was riding away.

Jason didn't call back for the evening and I was glad. I needed some thinking time. Sometime between his call and getting home, I had decided not to say anything to mom. There was also a chance that he had called home for me already and that she already knew. A bath and some food didn't make the situation better. I was still feeling rotten. Worst of all, I was still feeling confused. Quite possibly, I had been dumped after only four days because of my indecision.

But I was also still quite mad. Robin knew me better than most people. We got each other; that was just part of our bond. So how is it that he couldn't understand that I was in a hard situation? When Jason left, I had liked him a lot. He had been my best friend for a long time and it's because of him that I had found a lot of things that interested me. Somewhere in there was a caring guy that was a good friend and cared about me. When we had very suddenly lost contact, it had been sad for me. I had felt pretty abandoned. Then Tanya came along and, somehow, things got better. I came to realise that if he'd gone his separate way, there was nothing I could do about it but move on myself. But had I just shoved all that expectant affection in a closet, ready to be loosed at just the sound of his voice?

I had been so astounded that I hadn't even asked what brought him back to Happy Harbour—I, who liked having answers where matters like these were concerned. Had I always been the kind of silly girl who got her head turned inside out by boys? If I had been, I was losing respect for myself and fast. It wouldn't be good if I found out that I was the very type of girl that I often pitied and ridiculed and lectured. But affection had a funny way of turning people into simpering idiots who suddenly didn't know left from right, up from down, or sense from stupidity. It made me feel a lot better to blame that than anything else.

But that brought me back to the question: how did I feel about him? Did I still like him enough that it was making me ruin what I had with Robin? And was my relationship with Robin flimsy enough to snap after a little confusion on my part? Did we not know each other as well as we thought, or did we only know each other when we were just friends? Seriously, that was more than one question but they were all part of the same problem so technically they were one and the same. How did I feel about either of them and why was it affecting me so much?

I had hurt Robin. Robin was so important to me that hurting him had felt like a wing of my house had been damaged, leaving me to feel the devastation and the sense of helplessness and tragedy. I wanted to be better to him. I wanted to be his girlfriend. Just the thought of him looking too closely at other girls made my eyebrow twitch with irritation. He was just a part of me and I needed him close.

_Needed him_? Oh, boy.

Jason couldn't have been the same guy that was my best friend. He'd been away for three years. He must have changed. His voice was definitely deeper and I was sure it would probably hurt my neck to look him in the face too long. I was curious to see him now. He had always been rather handsome and he would probably have grown more into it over the years. He would be a senior by now, too. But Robin was probably right. I was just revelling in the past curiously. There were few things that would make it so hard that you couldn't write one email, one letter or call just to let me know what was going on. If it had been making things hard all this time, how was he even able to come to Happy Harbour? _Why_ was he coming? He had treated me cruelly. I deserved to know what had gone on and what was going on before I decided whether or not I really wanted to see him again. If I had just been easily forgotten and his trip to Happy Harbour was the only thing reminding him of me, would I really want to be friends with him again, and who was to say that, when he left again, the same thing wouldn't happen?

But he'd bothered to call at all, hadn't he? It was proof that he didn't just see me as someone from his past that didn't matter anymore, or that he had outgrown. Moreover, he had told me that he loved me. Not that I believed everything I heard but, coming from Jason, it felt like there was some serious meaning behind it. He was still one of the persons in this world who knew me best. He had had feelings for me when he left. How, now, could he have come to the conclusion that he loved me? Does someone not call the person they've figured they're in love with for three years? Was it possible that he could have just said that to shake me enough to meet him? Was he _that_ callous? Who knew that moving had done to him? Wasn't it also possible that he had learnt his lesson, to seize opportunities while he could? And all this thinking was not helping.

My message tone went off and I grabbed my phone anticipating who it was.

_Wat's going on?_

_R u keeping anything frm_

_me this time?_

I was disappointed to see that it was only Tanya. I sighed and realised that it was messed up when you sighed when your best friend texted you and things were going well between you.

**Nah. Nothing's up.**

And then I realised I was lying. Lots was up. Shitloads. I backspaced the entire thing and started again.

**Tell you tomorrow.**

**Sleep now.**

**Goodnight.**

_Aw. Alrite. 2moro._

_Gdnite._

I snickered. I hated how Tanya texted. But I was used to it so it didn't make me so irritated anymore. It was just another colourful thing about her that I accepted…and then laughed when she couldn't spell words like 'haemoglobin' or 'fastidious'.

I wanted to text Robin or to call him and ask him if he was still mad at me. Before I knew it, my finger had pressed call and the phone was to my ear. It rang and it rang and it rang and, just as I thought it was going to voicemail, he picked up.

"You're persistent. Most people give up after like four rings. It occurred to me that if I didn't answer you might just call again and again until I threw the phone out the window. Then I'd have to explain why I needed a new phone and my guardian always knows when I'm lying."

I exhaled. "You're still mad. You still hate me. I shouldn't have called. I'm sorry. Goodnight."

"Wait." And I obeyed like a good little puppy. "I don't hate you."

"But you're still mad and I still shouldn't have called."

"Can you shut up for a minute?" The corner of my mouth went up.

"I'm listening."

"I…was too harsh on you today. I don't think I'm in a position to understand what you're going through and I got mad and said a lot of things. You've got to know that I didn't mean them—"

"Even if you didn't mean them, it doesn't make them any less right. I'm stupid and indecisive and going to get myself killed like that. I can't compartmentalise. And I'm just hanging on to something that might not even be worth anything anymore—"

"Hy—"

"Forget it, Robin. You're right. I'm not good enough to be with someone who already knows how to sort out things. I'm blind and if I can't learn to think things through properly, I can't be Cin and I can't be your girlfriend. Those things would only end badly."

"I thought I told you to shut up and let me talk."

"Yeah, but we all know I talk too much and I'm too stubborn. I'm sorry. Don't worry about me. Forget I called and go to sleep. Goodnight." I hung up the phone, turned it off and threw it in a corner somewhere. That wasn't what I had really meant to say to him but it had come out anyway and there was no way to take them back or really fix it. He had said all the things I had wanted him to say and was trying to make things better. But he _had_ been right. I had been stupid. I still was. Somehow, that was going to kill me, either physically or emotionally. Now I was just feeling worse because I realised that I wasn't able to deal with something like this calmly or properly. Clearly, I didn't know how to fight fairly or properly. If all our fights would end with me sounding like a petulant child, I wasn't ready for him and he deserved better than me.

The thing was I wanted to fix it, to say sorry, to talk it out, to deal with it and to know that I wasn't really that stupid. My curiosity was making me say and do the wrong things. Jason had some evil kind of control over me, clearly. I didn't like that. I had to deal with that right away before everything between me and Robin was destroyed with no hope of salvaging.

"Talk."

"What is it with you and good mornings? Did the person who used to tell you that die so you can't say it anymore?" I asked Tanya.

"We're best friends. It's understood. I like to get straight to the point. Now talk."

"Your life revolves around drama, doesn't it?"

"Enough about me, now talk."

"Okay, okay. Jason's back in town?"

"_What!_"

"Pipe down!"

"Sorry. What?"

"He's back in town and he wants to see me. He's sorry he left the way he did and he wants to see if we still have something."

"Did you tell him _you_ already have _someone_?"

"No."

"Why the heck not?"

"I—I don't know. I just didn't and now things are a little rocky between me and Robin."

"He found out?"

"He was right there when he called."

"Shit."

"Yeah. He thinks I shouldn't give him a second chance after he cut ties with me just like that, but I kind of want to know what happened and I want to know what he really feels for me and why I'm so curious about all this."

"You still think you might like him after all this time?"

"That's the thing. I don't know if I do. But I still really want to see him."

She noticed my hesitation. "What?"

"There's more."

"What?"

"He said he loves me."

"Holy—"

"There's even more than that."

"Don't tell me you think you love him?"

"Not him."

It took her a second but she understood. "You're in love with Robin? Finally, you admit it?"

"It occurred to me last night that I need him to stay with me but I'm not good enough for him."

She squealed and jumped up and down twice and I just exhaled. "Why aren't you good enough for him?"

"How can I feel so strongly about him and still be responding to the crush I had on Jase so many years ago at the same time?"

"How can you love your mom and dad both?"

"Yeah, but isn't it true that most people love one parent a little more than the other, even if it is by just a little bit?"

"Who do you love more?"

"My mom. We see less of dad so it's a bit harder to love him since he isn't always around for me to…experience enough about him to love him as much as my mom. It's not by a lot though."

"Not what I meant."

"I can't love someone who hasn't been around for three years."

"You're acting like it. Most people overcome normal crushes that turn to dust. You're still letting it control you so it may not be just a little crush."

"I could just be overreacting."

"Possible. You could just miss the old friendship and because you're not a callous cow, you want to see him because he meant so much to you before. Anyway, if you love Robin, just tell him that. Tell him that you love him and you're just feeling sentimental towards your old friend."

"I don't know if it's all that I'm feeling. I want to make sure. I think I want to hear about what's happened over the last three years and make sure he's different and that I don't still like him."

She exhaled and I deserved it. "Okay, fine. Just tell him to give you the chance to make sure everything is dead. He's really the person you want to keep no matter what, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, then, why would you care if you still like him? Robin's more important to you."

"Why _do_ I care?"

"See? You just need a little guidance."

"I do still deserve some answers, don't I?"

"Of course. So meet him for answers. Then explain you love someone else."

"Tanya, I love you."

"I know. And if you're late for my show on Friday, I'll skin you alive."

"Yes, sir." I saluted and then the bell rang for class.

I was expecting to have to make my way to Mount Justice by myself but Robin was waiting, as usual. I felt so horribly that I wanted to dash in the opposite direction from and hide. I didn't feel like dealing with him or Canary. But it didn't make sense to let the problems I'd created for myself interfere with what was referred to, in a clichéd way, as the greater good.

I approached him slowly and his expression looked sceptical rather than cold. I was expecting him to leave me alone and never speak to me again but, instead, he had to be the perfect gentleman, the perfect friend, and show up, there for me always. Arguably, he could have just been trying to keep his promise to my mom.

"Hey," I said lamely.

"Hey."

"You came for me."

"Don't I always?"

"I didn't expect you to."

"Hy—"

"Look, I don't expect you to put up with me. I don't know why I'm being so stupid but I don't think you deserve to have to deal with me when I'm like this. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry and you don't have to do this."

"You think I should just abandon you because you're having a hard time? Should I do that every time this happens in the future? Hy, I can't do that. Best friends don't do that. Boyfriends shouldn't either." He reached over and secured a few loose strands behind my ear. I wasn't sure what kind of expression I was wearing but it had to be something that told him that I didn't like to fight. He took me pulled me closer, put his arms around me and kissed my forehead. My fingers just closed around the fabric of his shirt and I tried to swallow the lump out of my throat.

"Ah, what happened to us, Hy? We weren't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to get each other and not get into fights. We were supposed to be sure of ourselves and each other and understand. We were just supposed to be great, like we were when we were just friends."

"You give me too much credit. I'm rash and easily confused and not that great."

"You don't know the half of it, how great you are." He just continued to hold me and his hand tightened on my shoulder. I flinched. He pulled back. "Oh, God, I hurt you yesterday, didn't I?"

"Depends on how big the sin was."

"…What?"

"Sorry. Religious joke." He almost smiled.

"It's not funny. I hurt you, didn't I?"

"It's my fault. I deserved it."

"Don't say that."

"I did. I let myself get too shaken up and couldn't even fight you back. Every hit I took, it was my fault because I _can_ take you. But I wasn't even in the mood to try enough."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have fought you so seriously. I should have noticed your head wasn't in the game and I shouldn't have taken you so seriously."

"Going easy on me isn't going to help anybody but the criminals."

"I'm sorry. I'm still sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too." He brought me back to him, though more carefully this time. His arms were around me so tentatively that I felt worse for ever hurting him. "I didn't mean what I said at The Cave. You're important. Not a replacement. You're like…losing a pair of CZ earrings and getting a diamond ring."

He chuckled. "Does that mean I'm better than him?"

"You have every reason to be mad at me and you're still here, aren't you?""

"I'd be stupid to let you go after four days."

"No, I'd have understood."

"Understand this." His hand tilted my face up ever so slightly towards his and he placed a very careful, very tender kiss to my lips. Kissing him back was easier than walking. "Got it?" he asked, pulling back.

"Got it."

We started walking again when, seconds later, my phone rang. I considered just ignoring it, but it wasn't the ringtone for when my mom or any other family member called. It was the ringtone of a number that wasn't in my address book, 'Diary of Jane' by _Breaking Benjamin_.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I was a little disappointed when you didn't call last night. Does that mean that you don't want to see me?"

"Jase, we need to straighten some things out. I need some answers and then I need to make something clear to you. Got it?"

"So you'll meet me?"

"What time tonight?"

"Ooh, tonight isn't good for me. How about tomorrow night?"

"Okay."

"I'll call you later. I've got to go now."

"Me, too. Bye." The call ended. Robin went straight for my hand when my phone was back in my pocket and we started to walk again. "Robin."

"You're still going to see him."

"Yes. I need to know what kind of reason he can give me for just leaving me high and dry for three years. It doesn't matter if he still thinks there's something between us. I'm going to straighten things out and tell him that I already have someone."

"I've got a question. If he knows where you live, why is it that he can't come to you?"

"I've got no clue. Good point though."

"I don't like it. I trust you, but I don't like the idea of you being alone with that guy."

"Do you want to come?"

"You'd really want me there?"

"I've got no secrets. Besides, there are few places that I _don't_ want you."

"Oh, yeah? Name one."

"The bathroom."

He snickered. "I'm sure you want me there. You're just being coy."

I bent my leg backwards to kick him in the butt and laughed. "And you tell me I'm the perv."

"So I'm right."

"I never said that."

"You never said otherwise."

"'Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.'"

"That would only apply if you could ever _be_ silent." I laughed, he joined in. "So, you don't care if there might be a possibility that there could be anything between you two?"

"Nah. I've got a boyfriend and he's pretty great. Great enough for me to know that an old flame isn't enough for me to let him go."

"Well, see, you're not so stupid after all."

"You're so vain."

"I'm hot, I should be." I laughed. Being with him was always light-hearted and easy. How was a stupid enough to not see that in the first place? I wasn't losing this for someone like Jase. Even if it sounded horrible, after what he had done, I had outgrown him. And I'd found something even better.

**Heh.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Guess who didn't have homework this weekend! I apologise formally for the long wait, but I'm sure by now you guys know how it is. Yet still with this new chapter, I present an apology.**

**I was looking at the usernames and I began to wonder how many male readers I have for this story, if any. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I apologise if the fighting seems stupid. And yes, some people have predicted what happened. So I'm sorry if it was too predictable.**

**Special shoutout to _RoseGlass_ for suggesting that Hy get a weapon. Going away now to let you read...**

"We've gotten word that there is going to be a movement of materials today. Sources have indicated that there's a factory warehouse in Empire City, northeast of Happy Harbour, where large quantities of building materials are being amassed. Sportsmaster, Cheshire, Professor Ivo and an unknown group of individuals have been spotted coming in and out of the warehouse. A ship is scheduled to be there tonight, most likely to take the materials to an unknown location."

"So where do we come into all of this? Aren't we supposed to be the grunts for doing covert missions? If you ask me, this seems like it will get pretty overt—and messy—in no time," I said to Batman.

"I second that," Roy's voice called from behind. I half turned just to assert that it was him and then turned back around and scoffed.

"Also, what does this have to do with Happy?" I asked the Bat.

"I'm their informant," Roy answered smugly.

"'Kay. You passed on the info. Why are you _here_?"

"Well aren't you snippy."

"You started it when you insulted _mis __amigos_."

"I just agreed with you."

"Coming from you, that's an insult. You're not inner circle since you think you're too good for us, ergo, you're not allowed to casually make those kinds of comments. Coming from me, however, they're just endearingly truthful."

"Whatever, Weedgirl."

Batman cleared his throat and I gave him a bright smile. "I'm sorry. Please go on."

"Given who's involved," Batman continued, "we've concluded that The League of Shadows is up to something. Your job is going to be to prevent those materials from getting onto that ship. If you can apprehend any of the accomplices, that will be even better. If you can find a schematic, better yet. We'd like to know exactly what's going on there."

"You said there was a number of unknown individuals involved as well. Do we have any information as to who they are?" Kal asked.

"I didn't find out much, but these guys were definitely high up on the food chain. They're not mere hench. I'm talking well dressed and well armed. I suspect that they're either a new gang, mob or mafia," Happy said.

"Nice going, Happy. Five gold stars for you," I said.

"Do you ever shut up? And there I was thinking you had manners."

"Oh, I have manners. I just use them for people that matter."

"This coming from some short girl with a Napoleon complex, a name like a weed and a superhero fantasy that may or may not amount to anything."

"Hey, leave my Napoleon complex out of this."

"Um, guys, can we get back to the matter at hand?" Robin interjected.

"Of course we can," I replied, turning away from Happy.

"One more thing," Batman said. "Red Arrow will be going with you." I fought a grimace and shrugged. "Now move out."

Everyone started to leave when Robin pulled on my sleeve and stopped me.

"Yeah?" He pulled open the three inch zipper at the bottom of my left sleeve. I wrinkled my eyebrow, having not known that was there before.

"Got something for you."

I looked around. "For Cin or for Hy?"

"For Cin."

"More debt? No. Don't incur more debt upon me. I couldn't possibly let you help me anymore."

He gave a half smile. "Face it, you're already pretty much in debt for life. What's a little more?"

I smiled back. "Show me."

"I remembered that you told me you were good at darts."

"Yeah?"

He took a box from his tool belt—where the hell he found space for all that stuff, I had no clue—and opened it in front of my eyes, revealing the contents.

"Shiny." Sitting in front of my eyes were at least seven thin, silver needles and five crimson ones sitting in a background of black. "Are they for throwing?"

"Yup. You need something long range. Being limited to short range can be dangerous. The crimson ones are tranquilisers."

He handed me one of the silver ones, probably for inspection, and just as Happy walked through the door, I threw it at his head in time for it to hit the just closed door.

"Hyacinth!"

I chuckled. "I knew the door was going to close."

"You have some vendetta against him?" Batman asked, approaching us.

"Not particularly. I just don't like him."

"That kind of behaviour won't be tolerated, Hyacinth."

"I know. I'm sorry. I was just kidding around. I won't kill him. I just won't necessarily save him either." Robin chuckled.

"I'm sure he can watch his back."

I offered The Bat a smile. "We should hope so, after his years of experience. What are the needles made of?"

"Carbon steel alloy."

"Ooh. Strong _and_ bendy. Nice." I looked at Robin and then back at him. "Thank you for this. I'm really grateful."

"Don't mention it."

"I have to. I don't think you'd really get it but I have to. So I'll at least say thank you since I can't do anything else."

"You can do your job."

I saluted with a smile. "Yes, sir."

He started to walk away and I watched him go.

"Hy." When I looked at Robin, he was in the open doorway, my needle in hand. He had to have been really fast to have gotten it back. But he was Robin—that was a given.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Hold on." He took my left arm, removed the black wristband which the needles were magnetically attached to from the box, strapped it onto me and zipped the sleeve closed. I couldn't help but think of the ritual of guys putting corsages on girls they were taking to prom. It made me snicker.

He smiled. "What?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Tell me later. When you're taking the needles out, slide them, don't pull. The magnet's super strong to make sure they don't just fall out." I nodded. "Now, let's go."

"Right." He patted my hand before letting it drop to my side and we left the room.

They made sure that Happy was sitting at the front of the Bioship, which was good. I felt sorely tempted to ensure that my aim was still good by using his head as the target but I was behind Artemis again and I would have been distressed if I stabbed her instead. Arty was a nice girl. Happy was just irritating. Sexy, but irritating. Irritating enough to not be sexy anymore.

The silence was getting to me so I decided to break it first. It would also help me take my mind off of wanting to assault Happy. Something about him ticked me off more than it should have. I usually didn't dislike anyone as much as I disliked him.

"So, guys, mom says you're obliged to come for dinner on Saturday. Seven-ish is ideal."

"Pass," Happy said quickly.

"Good. You weren't invited. Group members only." He snorted; I ignored him.

"Um, Saturday? I...don't think it'd be a good day for me. I had plans for Saturday," Megan said.

"Me, too. Does it have to be Saturday?" Conner asked.

"Harlene is going to frown at me. Do you _know_ what kind of power Harlene's disappointed frown has?" I said.

"Power?" Artemis asked.

"Let me just put it this way: she gave me the puppy dog eyes and the frown one day when I had come home later than we had both expected and I found myself stitching till the wee hours of the morning to embellish her dress for a hospital formal. And I had just come back from rugby with a bunch of guys. Hyacinth loves her sleep more than she loves to sew and beading is not fun when almost every muscle in your body aches."

"You really can't say no to your mom, can you, Hy?" Robin asked.

"Fifth commandment."

"It's more than that, isn't it? I mean she didn't force you to do it, did she?"

"No, but it's all in the eyes and the frown. No, it's more like a pout. I was supposed to have come home at seven but I ended up staying two extra hours to help Tanya with some very Tanya-like crisis. When I told her I might not be able to make the alterations she wanted, she frowned, gave me the puppy dog eyes and said, 'I really was looking forward to wearing something fabulous from your hands. But I suppose if you're in pain and tired, there's nothing we can do about that.' Harlene knows her evil powers. She just has to bat her eyelids and say the word and I'll be going across the state for chicken soup. I better not give her ideas."

"I just can't imagine anyone having you in their back pocket."

My eyebrows rose very slightly at him then returned to normal, hoping no one really noticed. "She's an angel. And what can we mere mortals do but serve an angel? Besides, she cooks for me." I winked at Megan. "You could have me in your back pocket, too, you know. We just need to make the cooking thing a regular deal." My eyes fell on the guy to her left and I smiled. "Then again, you've got enough cooking to do." I noticed the blush spreading on his face and hers. "You guys can reschedule your date for a little earlier, right? The cinema's open all day and it's dark there."

"How—" Megan began.

"We're here," Happy cut in. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. _Down, __Hyacinth. __Bad __girl. __Behave. __You__'__re __all __here __for __a __mission._

"Hey, Hy."

"Yeah, Meg?"

"What's the fifth commandment?"

"'Honour thy father and thy mother'. Religious thing again."

"You know, the way you say religious things like that is misleading. People might think you're a nice person," Happy retorted.

"Everyone is susceptible to sin."

"Wait, hold up, did you just make a pun with your own pseudo?" Robin asked, smiling.

"Pretty much," I answered.

"I'm whelmed."

The Bioship landed behind a tall building and we got out.

"I want everybody is stealth mode," Kal ordered. Everyone switched their outfits to stealth but Conner and I just zipped my jacket closed, totally lame in comparison.

"Aw, I don't have a cool stealth button."

"That's because you're not cool," Happy said, walking past me.

"Real mature, Happy."

"Whatever, Weedgirl."

"Focus, people," Kal interjected. "Cin and Superboy, I want you guys to start searching from the east of the warehouse. Robin and Red Arrow, take the second floor. Kid and I will take out on the docks and Miss Martian and Artemis, take the west. Stay hidden unless the situation can be handled quietly. If you cause a commotion, give the rest of us some warning. Similarly if you find anything. Now move out." We all gave one nod and headed to the warehouse entrance. Kid went ahead of us, taking out the two guards at the door, and we entered unceremoniously and then separated into groups.

The east of the warehouse was occupied by several vats in one area and shelves in another.

"We should split up," Conner said softly to me. I nodded and headed towards the vats. I stopped behind the vat closest to me and listened for the sound of anyone around. Not a breath, a sigh, a fidget. I continued with utmost caution. Last thing I wanted was to have my brains bashed in by someone who surprised me.

I made my way around the vat closest to me and then proceeded to make my way around the next one. There were no messages yet from teammates which probably meant that everything was going well. Just as I made my way around the second one, I spotted three guys about eight yards away from me with high powered rifles and dressed in suits, classy like the mob in the movies. I pulled three tranq needles from where they were stashed on my left wrist and threw them one after the other at the trio who were still extremely oblivious at the fact that I was there. But after they went down, their buddy who was another four feet away, whom I had not noticed, started to open fire in my general direction. I hid behind another vat until the shooting stopped.

"We've got intruders on the ground floor. Our mission may be compromised. I repeat, we've got intruders on the ground," I heard the guy say from where he was behind me. Not only were they dressed in suits and given high powered rifles, but they had their own comm. system, too? It occurred to me that Happy was right; these guys were being funded.

I touched my communicator. "Guys, we've just been made. Expect some trouble."

"Understood," said Kaldur. "Miss Martian and Kid, I want you both to switch positions. I need help running the ship aground. In the meanwhile, try to make sure that no one from the inside gets any of the materials moving."

"Roger that," I responded.

I started to back up slowly to get some distance between me and Mr. Trigger-Happy and hoping to get a better vantage point to spy on him from.

I turned to scan the area I was backed into, mentally noting that I should have probably looked first before I had walked into it. I felt the metal behind my head before I realised I was even in any danger. When I fell forward, hitting the floor face first, it was like reinforcement to the thought. My vision was blacking out but I started to fight it. I rolled onto my back and then forced myself to my feet when I saw the pipe coming toward my face. I just barely managed to catch it when a wave of dizzy pain radiated through my head. I put a hand on the vat to steady me. My assailant studied me for a long moment before dropping the pipe in his hand.

"Shit, are you with us? I'm so sorry. I didn't know we had girls with us," he said. Instantly, I knew whoever had managed to get a lucky hit on me was an idiot. A lucky idiot. My black clothes had fooled him into thinking I was an ally. Clearly, the eye mask was beyond him. Still dizzy, I attempted to roundhouse kick him in the head before the idiot continued being stupid with me. He dodged and I ended up with my back on the floor which led me to thinking my judgement as well as my balance was a little bit off. The exclamation flew out before I could catch it.

"Mother—"

"Hyacinth?"

When I reopened my eyes (apparently, when you fall, sometimes your eyes close themselves), my vision was blurry but I managed to make out the person relaxing his combat pose to stand normally and just look at me again. And then it hit me. Oh, pickles. I knew that voice, or at least the way that voice said my name. I was just about to ask who Hyacinth was when he spoke.

"Hy, what the hell are you doing here?" He extended a hand, which for some unknown reason I took, and helped me up. I balanced myself against the vat again, thinking for the moment that I was safe because he didn't seem to be prepared to fight me. I touched my face to see if my mask was still on. It was. Had he recognised my voice or was my face just that distinguishable?

He just stood there, staring at me for a long moment when it came to him. "And why the hell are you wearing a mask? I—Oh, my God." It was just like Jason to get things four seconds late. "Oh, fu—You're with them, aren't you?" I started to reach for my tranq needles but, before I could reach my sleeve, he turned and darted. Intending to run after him, I took a step forward and realised I was about to stagger. I braced myself against the vat again. I needed another moment to catch myself.

"Shit." I turned and pulled a regular needle from my wrist, remembering that there was a guy with a gun somewhere behind me and deciding that it was a better idea to take him out before he had the opportunity to surprise me.

I returned to behind the vat I had used for cover when he had opened fire and leaned to one side to gauge what my opponent was up to.

"J, I'm awaiting your orders," he said, touching his comm. so that one hand was off the gun. I immediately got a better idea of the chain of command. I was intending to make use of his distraction when a loud noise came from outside, tearing Trigger-Happy's attention to behind him. I figured that that was probably Kal and Megan running the ship aground, or at least into the harbour, so that it could not escape with any of the materials.

My opponent started to retreat outside after receiving orders from his comm. link and I utilised the opportunity of having his back to me, to run behind him and knock him unconscious, using his own pressure points against him. I retrieved my three needles from his pals on the ground and started to make my way toward where Conner had gone. I wondered why he hadn't come in my direction when he heard the shooting.

When I found him, he had just thrown one of well-dressed hench into a pile of his comrades.

"Supes." He turned and walked over to me.

"What happened? I heard gunshots and was coming but I ran into these guys," he answered, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.

"I ran into a bit of trouble myself."

"Superboy, your assistance is needed at the harbour," Kaldur said through the comm.

A chorus of shots sounded from the floor above us which was an area less than half the size of the ground floor.

"We could use some help, too," Robin said.

"I'm coming," I said to Robin. "Superboy, you go ahead."

He nodded. "Roger that, Aqualad. I'm heading to you now." He darted off and I started towards the staircase as well.

I ran up the staircase, anticipating that there would be someone there waiting for me and was not disappointed. There was a guy with a gun standing just off of the staircase and I threw one of my tranq needles at him before he could squeeze the trigger. Several guys had backed Robin and Happy behind a set of crates and surrounded them. Realising that their backs were all turned to me, I ran up to the one closest to me and used him to keep my balance while I propelled my foot into his friend's face which sent him into the guy next to him. When my feet were flatly on the ground against, I punched the guy I was using to keep my balance and pushed him into the guy in his left. I kicked the guy who had been capsized by his friend in the stomach to keep him down. Four were down, there were four to go. Attacking four of their group caught the attention of the rest of the guys and they stopped shooting to turn their attention to me. When Robin and Happy jumped out of hiding and took down the four guys remaining, I realised that somewhere in the back of my mind I had been hoping they'd have my back once I attacked.

"Thanks for the assist," Robin said.

"Just glad you didn't become a colander. How come you got surrounded?" I asked, coming over to where he was next to the guys who were next to the first two I took out.

"There were only two guys up here but then, after you said you'd been made, these eight came up here and surrounded us."

"Ah. So it was my fault. Fitting that I would come to your rescue then."

"We should get to the others. I imagine Aqualad and the others are under heavy fire at the dock," Happy cut in.

A door opened from behind me and I proceeded to turn and get ready to fight again.

"Don't move," the person said. Again, that voice was all I needed to hear to know exactly who it was. "Just stay exactly where you are or I'll riddle one of you with enough holes that you won't ever have to _walk_ to a bathroom again."

"By your idiot logic, we'd be dead and never _need_ to use one again."

He scoffed and approached until I could hear that he was just mere inches away. "Why are you still here, Hyacinth? You should have gotten out of here when I gave you the chance."

"_I__'__m_ not a deserter, _Jase_."

"You don't even underst—"

"Well, well, what have we got here?" a woman's voice asked from where he was. Her entry had been so silent that her statement was the only thing that revealed her presence to me. She sounded proud, smug even.

"Cheshire," Robin and Happy said together.

"Look, if it isn't the little bird and the cutie again, and...wait, who is that? I've never seen you before," she continued.

"Everyone has known a little taste of sin," I answered.

"Seriously?" Robin asked, referring to my pun.

"Now she knows who I am," I said, shrugging.

"Whatever that's supposed to mean. Shoot the bird and the girl. I'll take care of Red," she said.

"Wait. Don't I get a last request before I die," I said. The woman, Cheshire apparently, chuckled.

"Not really."

"You're not even remotely interested in what I have to say? Not even you, Jason?"

She chuckled again. "I see you two have history. How interesting. Let's hear it."

"I have an itch."

"A what?" Jason asked. I could practically see his forehead creasing. When something surprising happened, he tended to drop what he was doing. It struck me that after all this time I probably still knew quite a bit about him, except that there was now obvious evidence that he had changed a lot.

Hoping that he had at least the lowered the gun, I threw my head back with enough force that caused me to stagger and hit straight into him. We started falling backwards and Robin grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him, like I had been depending on him to (not specifically that but I was hoping he'd do something). I kicked at Jason's head, causing him to stagger backwards, but he grabbed the railing to keep himself from falling. Cheshire ran back towards the door that she'd come from, stopped and turned just before she went out it, probably having figured that three still outnumbered two anyhow you looked at it.

"Come on. Just retreat for now," she said to him.

She pulled a dart from her robe and threw it at Happy as he started to pull from his quiver. Just as he was pulling on the string of his bow, she threw.

"Red!" I shouted. Without even thinking about it or meaning to or evaluating what was about to happen, responding only impulsively to the threat of someone who was a teammate getting hurt, I threw myself into him and felt as the dart stuck me in the back. My head collided with the metal bar of the railing as Happy and I started to fall and I heard a sound akin to the deflation of a balloon when everything went black.

**I'm not sure if this is a satisfying chapter. I'd like to know what you think. Also, expect something lovely on December 11th.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I apologise for how short this chapter is. But I promised you guys a surprise today. This wasn't the surprise I had in mind but I'm delivering, at least, right? Please don't hate me.**

Having quickly become fed up of the crowd of adult aristocrats, I decided that some fresh air on the balcony of the mansion's ballroom would be a nice escape from everything. I wondered again why I had complied with my parents request to accompany them to such a formal and upper class event but got my answer as I saw my mother laughing with the group she had slipped into. Because I wanted to make them happy and they had asked me to, that's why. Although, they should have foreseen that I would be bored as hell in no time, no matter how social I tended to be. Rich people just generally didn't like to talk to people that would not benefit them, nor would they go out of their way to make a stranger comfortable. The only reason my parents were invited was because they had saved a friend of the host's by providing the surgery he needed and taking good care of him during his stay at the hospital. I surmised that if that was the treatment people who helped his friends got, Bruce Wayne's friends must have been living the life. It didn't change the fact, however, that I, as a teenage girl, had practically no business being here and the hours I'd spent working on my own dress had been practically pointless. I should have said no, especially after Jason blew me off. Too late for that though.

I stepped out onto the balcony, away from the crowd and the music and the chatter and immediately felt like I could breathe again. My shoes were killing me, though looking absolutely fabulous I would bet, and I just wanted to go home and sleep. As a teenager, there was no such thing as too much sleep.

I rested my elbows on the balcony wall and leaned on them as I stared out at the impressive and well-manicured landscape before me. It was so strange watching one for real. I was used to seeing them in movies but it was absolutely different seeing it with your own eyes.

"People with money sure see a different side of life, don't they?" I muttered to myself.

"We try." At the sound of a foreign voice indicating that I was very much no longer alone, I spun my head around, standing straight. The teenage boy standing a few steps away from the doorway he had just entered looked extremely familiar and breathtakingly handsome. I kind of felt like I had to bow. I managed to ignore the urge but was reduced to a wordless, staring dummy. My brain was too caught up in taking in his gorgeous face and trying to place where I had seen it before to register that I was staring very impolitely.

He chuckled and that forced me to realise that I had long surpassed the two seconds of staring allowed and deemed polite. I looked away, slightly to his left but it wasn't long before my eyes returned to him. _Speak, __dummy. __Don__'__t __just __look __retarded. __It __only __offsets __how __out-of-place __you __are._

"Uh—I'm sorry, what?"

He chuckled again. "I said we try. But some things we just can't escape from, like boredom, love, impulse, you know." He came to join me at the balcony, stopping a few inches next to me. "No need to look so alarmed, you know. It's okay, you being here, you know."

I nodded. Apparently, he thought that I thought he was going to tell me I wasn't supposed to be out here and kick me out. Part of me had felt a little bit like that but I was mostly stunned by the fact that someone had actually come out here. I wouldn't fool myself by thinking he'd followed me, but it was just interesting that he had spoken to me. Then, my answer hit me like a lead pipe at the back of the head (a choice of words that somehow felt ironic).

"I know who you are," I said.

He smirked. "Oh, yeah? Five gold stars for you."

"You're Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne's kid."

"His _ward_."

"You two have a miles-apart kind of relationship?"

"Nope."

"Then why is it wrong to say you're his kid?"

"We're not blood related."

"No shit but blood isn't what makes family."

He smiled. "You sure are an interesting girl. How come you're alone then? Don't tell me all the rich people are suffocating you."

"I won't tell you then."

"Feeling like a fish out of water?"

"And bored as hell because of it. My parents are off chatting away with people they've probably only just met and my best friend ditched me. Plus, I don't see any other teenagers here."

"Here I am."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Oh, nice. Shouldn't you be like out there with your friends or acquaintances or something?"

"You trying to run me or something?"

"Of course not. I'm just trying to figure out why you'd be here when you could be there."

"I'm bored so I followed you. It's really just you and me." His words echoed inside me. The concept of him and me together held some familiarity.

"Oh, wow. It would probably have been better for both of us if Jase had come then. But, typical idiot, he finds something else to make him diverge from his plans. Stupid abandoner."

"I can't imagine why anyone would leave you behind. Unless, of course, he really is an idiot."

I almost did a double take. "I'm sorry, are you trying to flirt with me?"

He chuckled. "Maybe just a little. Is it working?"

Damn well it was. He was gorgeous for a teenager. He was going to make panties drop if he grew more into that gorgeous face of his. "Not really."

"Liar."

"Okay, maybe just a little."

"Tell ya what: I'll be your hero and save you from this murderous boredom. I personally am glad that your friend chose to bail out. Now I get to have you all to myself." I fought the urge to roll my eyes but was flattered to have caught the attention of such a looker. "From the sound of it, this isn't the first time that he's left you high and dry."

"Five gold stars for _you_," I replied, returning to my leaning position and looking out again.

"Maybe you should stop hanging out with him. He's a real idiot if he can't appreciate the opportunity he has in front of his face to capitalise on your time."

I actually did roll my eyes this time. "It's not like that. We're just friends. He's not interested in me like that."

"You're not doing a very good job of defending him, you know. You're just helping me prove how big of an idiot he is. Why would he friend zone such a catch?"

"How can you possibly peg me as a catch? You don't even know me!"

"Actually, I know you a lot better than you'd like." A creepy kind of wind blew and I shivered. The sleeves of my dress were sheer and pretty much useless.

He moved from next to me to behind me and put his arms around me. "It's okay. I'm here for you," he said, and his tone was so warm and caring that his words felt as if they carried a much deeper meaning. I should have been weirded out by his advances, and immediately gone on the defensive but I did not and didn't feel the need to. His warmth felt so good, so safe. I felt like I could trust him right off the bat. Something about my choice of expression about a bat stirred something within me.

Completely carried away with feeling of warmth and security he was providing, I leaned into him, tilting my head a little and closing my eyes. His cheek came to rest against mine as he held me close.

"You should let him go. He's only going to keep hurting you."

"Yes. I should."

"You won't be alone. I'll be here for you. That's what a good best friend and boyfriend would do."

"Hm."

"Have I got you wrapped around my finger yet?"

"Plenty."

"Good. Now we're even." He kissed my cheek softly and slowly and my heart felt like it was melting in my chest. It felt familiar instead of foreign, safe instead of questionable.

Someone cleared his throat from behind us and we turned, his body still lending its warmth to mine. The guy had red hair and was sexy but I was a bit peeved that he had interrupted our moment.

"So that's where you ran off to. Nice of you to abandon me when I go to the bathroom. Sorry to intrude but Bruce is looking for you," Red said to him.

"Thanks, Roy. I'll be there in a minute," Richard replied. Red, or Roy as I presumed he'd been named, turned and left again without another word. Richard released me and I turned to face him.

"Time for you to go back inside, I see."

"Yeah. Sucks." He kissed my forehead, then turned and headed for the door. One step away from it, he turned back to me. "You coming?" It wasn't really a question, it was more of an expectation. He extended his hand towards me and after a moment's hesitation, I walked over to him and place my hand in his. He kissed it before pulling me along, back into the chaos, but no longer alone.

Everything was black. It was just me in a dark abyss, floating as if I was just in water. Maybe it was water. But I wasn't wet. So maybe it was space. Where were the stars and planets? Finally, I resigned myself to not knowing where the heck I was.

I wondered where everybody else was. It was so odd being alone with no clue as to what was really going on or what I was supposed to do. Suddenly, I stopped looking around and saw that there was a rope in front of me. At first, I was a little bit weary of the random rope in the middle of my nothingness but then it occurred to me that, not knowing anything, it was good to have something to work with. I picked up the rope and pulled myself along its length, hoping that I would find something or someone wherever it led to. After what felt like three minutes and sixteen seconds of going along the rope, I found a pinhole of light that grew and grew until it encapsulated me.

That was when I opened my eyes. My eyes flitted around, aware that the scene before me was not consistent with what should have been in my bedroom. My eyes continued to scan where it could see from my lying position and it took me a whole minute to realise that I was in the Cave's infirmary. The bed was comfy, unlike I had expected, but I was cold and the thin blanket was pretty useless.

Four boot steps preceded the question.

"Why'd you do it?"

I had to take a few seconds before I could force my body up. I felt stiff, kind of like when I slept in a cold, air conditioned room for several hours—which I had (I assumed)—which seemed to account for the sensation. Once I was sitting, I directed my eyes to Happy who looked as serious and unsmiling as ever. He stood at such a distance that I thought for a moment he felt like I was going to attack him.

"Good morning to you, too, Happy."

"I think you mean good afternoon. Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Jump in front of me when Cheshire threw that dart at my face. It was just a sleeping agent and I thought you hated me and wanted me out of your way."

"Did we know for sure it was a sleeping agent?"

"No but—"

"And if it was a sleeping agent, who was gonna carry your heavy ass back?"

"I doubt that that was your thought at the time, so what was it?"

"I wanted to look like a hero. Imagine how highly everyone must think of me now."

He scoffed. "How big is your ego? Big enough that you would risk your life just to look cool?"

"Aw, Happy, you were worried about me. How sweet."

"Cut the crap. Why the hell did they let you on this team? Did they have any idea that you were so reckless?"

I wanted to give a fierce rebuttal to his statement but instead I found myself become silently curious as to why he was so worked up.

"It's not like you didn't smile when I got passed out."

"I didn't."

"Were you worried?"

"No."

"So if you have no feelings on the issue, what's your problem? You hate me so I can't see why this whole thing is a big problem for you."

"Because I have to know why! I don't accept favours without questioning them."

"I don't know, alright! My body acted on its own. I just couldn't see a member of my team getting hurt. I hadn't even decided to consciously when I jumped. Happy now?"

"No, I'm not happy! That makes no sense!"

"Only because you think I hate you!" My head started to pulsate with all the shouting and I closed my eyes and put a hand to my head. "What was that shit I got stabbed with?" I muttered half to myself.

"It's spider venom. In the right quantities, it can kill you. Plus, you had a slight concussion from hitting the railing. Are you trying to say you don't hate me and that you cared whether or not I got hurt?"

"Sometimes what I say and what I feel is different. And I'm not the kind of person that forsakes someone in trouble because I don't like them. That goes against my sense of justice. It's a reflex, like blinking or a knee jerk. I have a bad habit of getting involved in issues with which I'm not usually concerned. But don't worry. I have no intention of holding this over your head and I'm not asking you to like me. You probably don't even acknowledge what I did as help, so consider us even like the number four."

"I'm not an ingrate, you know, Weedgirl. I can recognise when someone has had my back. And, after what you did, I can see that you're not so bad after all. So, thanks."

I smirked. "You really have to work on your complementing skills, Red. But I'll take it. You're welcome, Red. That's what fellow crime fighters are for." I remembered his statement from before about it being afternoon. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Five fifteen."

"Shit." I threw back the covers and flew off the bed, causing a dizzy spell which caused me to stagger back onto the bed and for Red to reach forward to catch my hand. After the pretty colours subsided from my vision and clarity returned, I stood back up, slower this time, and Red let go of my hand. "Thanks, Red."

"No problem. What's the rush? You got a date or a church meeting or something?"

"Ha ha. No. My mother must be worried sick when I didn't come home last night."

"Robin called her, I think. She told him to keep you here and not to move you."

"Ah. Smart birdy. Did you carry me from the warehouse?"

"I didn't even get the chance to."

"What happened?"

"After the polyurethane foam exploded in the doorway, I thought he would try to get outside to see if they were caught. Instead, he runs straight to you, pulls you off of me and tries to wake you up. When he realised you still had a pulse, he contacted Kaldur who told him that most of the gang had been escaped but they'd managed to hold onto a few people and Cheshire and the guy with the gun got away. After that, he said he'd take you to the ship while they tied things up because you were unconscious. He picked you up and when I offered to take you, he insisted he was okay. He was pretty upset." The look on his face practically demanded to know why he'd been so riled up.

I chuckled. "Now we know what happens when you mess with Robin's best friends."

"Is that really it?"

"What do you want me to tell you, Red?"

He regarded me for a moment. "Nothing."

"Where's everyone else?"

"In the main training area."

I looked around the room for my bag and found it beside my bed. I smiled, surmising that it was probably Robin who thought that I might look for my stuff after I woke up.

"Damnit, I missed school today."

"You were unconscious. Not much could be done about it."

"I know. Tanya's going to bitch about me abandoning her today."

"Friend?"

"Yup." I started for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Shower and then training area. No need to wait."

He scoffed. "Wasn't planning on it." I chuckled and started to walk off again. "Wait."

"What's up?"

"You knew him, didn't you? The guy with the gun?"

I snickered. "I'll tell you the story a little later, okay?" I walked off, longing for the feel of water to make me feel alert and awake again.

When I walked into the main training area having bathed, scrubbed my teeth and changed into clean clothes, I got the attention of everyone in the room, that being the whole team, Happy, Superman, Black Canary, Red Arrow, Martian Manhunter and, of course, Batman. Robin started to come towards me as if to meet me half way.

"Hy!" He cleared his throat and suddenly slowed his pace. "Should you be on your feet?" Something in me recognised that he was masking something else, probably worry that would have alerted the team that people who were just friends didn't act quite like that.

"I'm sorry I worried you."

"I never said—"

"Uh-huh. Red already told me what happened."

"What kind of idiot just jumps in front of someone like that and then does it so ungracefully that they get a concussion hitting their head on a railing?"

"Oh, save it. I know you're just relieved I'm not dead. Besides, the concussion wasn't just from hitting the railing."

"Then what caused it?"

"Stupid son-of-a-bitch hit me in the back of the head with a lead pipe, I hit the floor and _then_ the friggin' rail got me."

"Calm down. Wait, when did—"

"Never mind that. How did the mission go? I hate the fact that I did something as un-heroic as passing out and not finishing the mission."

"Overall, it was a success," Kaldur replied. "You have yet to be debriefed on the report of the mission but we have already been."

I grimaced. Wasn't looking forward to that. I'd probably just end up hearing about how incompetent my tactics were.

A scratch on Artemis' cheek drew my attention. Against her fair skin, the dark red lines stood out. I started to walk briskly over to her and ended up with another dizzy spell and Megan had to support me.

"Thanks, Meg. Artemis, what happened to your face?"

"Relax, it's just a scratch," she responded.

"Was it that Cheshire woman? I'm really starting to dislike her."

"How'd you—"

"Guessed. Anyway, on the topic of the enemies from the mission, I heard you guys apprehended a few."

"Yes, we did. We've got them in custody for questioning," Black Canary said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fantastic. Dizzy as hell when I walk fast. Look, I have some stuff I can tell you about one of their guys though."

"Dizzy? You should go home and rest for now then," Superman interjected.

"But—"

"Later. You can tell us tomorrow. For now, you need to rest. We need you at one-hundred percent," he insisted.

I was about to continue being difficult but changed my mind and shrugged. "Alright. I'll go home and sleep all afternoon. Wait, I don't think I'm sleepy. Well, I'll find something to do. I think I have to do some beading..."

"Stop talking to yourself," Robin burst in.

"But why? It helps me sort my thoughts."

"You look crazy."

"I'm friends with _you_. Doesn't that prove something's wrong with me?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Wally objected. "What are you trying to say about me? I'm friends with him, too."

"Hard luck, Flashboy. You're nuts, too." Robin elbowed me and I hit him with my hip. He retaliated and I nearly kissed the floor. His hand grabbing my arm was the only thing that saved me from that particular bit of intimate contact.

"We really need to get you home," he said, sounding contrite.

"Yeah. Need to sleep it off or something. I have rugby on Thursday and if the guys only find out I'm handicapped, I'll be minced meat."

"Glutton for punishment." We started to walk towards the door.

"Hey, 'show me your friends', right?"

"Don't be so tough on Tanya."

I laughed. "Oh, nice." At the door, I stopped and turned. "Sorry to keep you all back. Thanks for not letting me die. See you tomorrow." Kaldur and Canary gave little waves and we headed out.

**I promise more soon.**


	25. Chapter 25

**MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY BELOVED READERS! (and to all the particularly non-religious/non-Christian, I still wish you a Merry Christmas because this day is Christmas day and my wishing you a merry one can be construed as nothing more than a wish for you to enjoy your day). As we speak, the Ghost is working hard to roll out as many chapters today as she can as her little gift to you all. I wish you all greatest blessings and prosperity. Thank you for sticking with me. Hey, _Night-Weaver369_, here's your fluff.**

We crossed the field in silence and then waited for a cab to turn up.

He exhaled. "I _was_ worried," he admitted.

I smiled. "I know. Thanks. I'm touched."

"Tell me something. That guy who had that gun pointed at your back, that was _The_ Jason, right?"

"Yup."

"Damn. That's way harsh." I didn't reply for a long moment, not sure exactly what to say after that. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, now I have more questions than I started out with."

"And?" I blinked at him a few times. "Don't you feel betrayed or angry or sad or heartbroken?"

"You can't really be betrayed by someone you're pretty much completely alienated from."

"Hy," he said, disapprovingly. "I know there's more to it than that." I sighed. He knew me so well. It was kind of scary.

"I had a dream—"

"Hy—"

"I'm not changing the topic. Let me finish."

"Sorry."

"So, I had a dream. In the dream, for some strange reason, I was dating Rich—"

"How is that important?"

"Shut up! Whatever. Well, in the dream, Jase had left me to go to a really upper class older people party with just my parents. The guy I was dating—well, we were hugging at least— told me something you told me long ago. He said that I was wasting my time on someone who was stupid enough to leave me behind and that I should let him go. And I agreed with him."

"And?"

I gave him a disapproving look for being in such a hurry and he gave me a sheepish grin.

"I think I might be—" I was interrupted when he touched his communicator and half turned away from me.

"Yeah...I was going to make sure Hy got home first...Do you really need me back that badly?" He looked back over to me.

"Go ahead. I won't collapse or anything," I insisted. I hated missing out on some action but even I knew I was not in any condition to join them just yet. I'd only get in the way and if someone hit me in the head again, I'd get brain damage and become mentally handicapped. Or, my brains would spill out. Neither of those sounded good.

"You sure?"

"Yes, yes. Now go. I'll see you tomorrow after school or something."

"Alright." He turned again. "Okay, I'm coming," he responded to who I assumed was Batman or Kaldur. A taxi pulled up and I got into one and headed home.

I was secretly extremely disappointed that I would have to go home on my own but there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't his first priority and I knew I would never be. The thought had already come to me and I'd made my peace with it. That was the danger of getting involved with the Boy Wonder and it was much better to be able to occupy some of his time and his heart than to not be around him at all. There were still tiny parts of him that he would give me, little pieces of information he'd share with me. For now, that sufficed. And, as _Lady Gaga_ would point out, relationships couldn't hold their interest if everything was smooth and easy sailing all the time.

Not that our relationship wasn't easy. It was easy to be his girlfriend emotionally. But it was the external factors that were the handicaps, like not knowing his real name, where he was from, what school he went to, details of his family situation, hero duty and so on. But we could deal. We were so far. And if we couldn't, we wouldn't let our broken attempt at romance get in the way of our close friendship.

Once home, I decided to change and barricade myself into my room. I picked up a blouse I had been working on as a surprise for Tanya and continued the embroidery I was attempting on it. I was far too awake to sleep so I agreed to settle for some easy work. I didn't really want to think on the last mission too much. Truly, I was bitter about various parts of it and just didn't want to dwell. My mind was still free to wander so I turned on some _Breaking Benjamin_ and focused on singing along. I tried not to see the irony in some of the songs. They liked to sing about betrayal sometimes. For this moment, it would just represent a cool theme that occurred in the life of others and not me.

Half way through the album, the rain started falling outside and I stared out the window, distracted by the way rain just knew how to be beautiful no matter where it fell. The rain on the roof in combination with the music was calming me and keeping me in a neutral middle ground where I didn't have to care or think about anything too much. I was content letting it dull me.

I stitched and stitched and stitched until it became dark outside and then I continued stitching. When I had finished the embroidery, pleased with how it came out, I started on some handkerchiefs with some excess fabric I had around. Just as I was finishing the border on my second hanky, my phone rang; it was an unknown number. I used the mouse which I had brought over from the computer desk to the bedside table to pause it before I answered.

"Hello?"

"I guess we can't meet tonight, can we?"

"You guessed right, Jason. What the hell got into you? How could you do this? I thought we used to admire the Justice League together. Was it that you were looking at the crooks instead? Have I been wrong about you all this time?" Now I couldn't stop it. He had called and all of it was just falling out.

"Are you upset?"

"No, I'm not fu—" I cut myself off and took a breath to calm down, closing my eyes. I reopened them just in time to see Robin swing into my window and land in my room. I don't know what he saw on my face but it was enough to sober his smiling expression and draw him very quickly to me. He stood next to the bed and put a hand on my shoulder and I felt as if I wanted to break down and cry because he was there to be my strength and I didn't have to force myself to hold on to the titanium armour I wore all the time. I resisted the urge to break down; I was not the type to cry and I would not start now. I started again on my response.

"I find out the person who used to be my best friend is a horrible, dirty traitor who can't contact me for three years except when he's in town to help a bunch of cronies commit some friggin' crime, as if the world doesn't have enough criminals—" My voice cracked and Robin sat and pulled me to lean on him.

"Okay, so you're mad. But you don't understand why I did it."

"I don't think there is any reason in the world that could justify your terrorism."

There was a pause. A breath. "My mom is in the hospital. She's in a coma _and_ she needs surgery."

"I was right. That doesn't justify your actions."

"Hy! This is my mother we're talking about here. You know that, apart from her, I have no one else!"

"You had me, us! It's not even the fact that you ditched me for three years that has me all that mad. In any case, you didn't give me any excuse for that at all. God, Jase, my parents are friggin' doctors! Our families were so close! We could have helped you! You didn't have to get involved in all that crap!"

"You expect me to believe that after all that you'd just welcome me back and help us out!"

"Yes, I do! I trusted you to know me and believe that I was a better friend than to leave you high and dry for some stupid reason like not having seen or heard from you in three years. Your mom needed help! That was enough reason to help. My parents wouldn't have just abandoned both of you to your own devices and neither would I." He was awfully silent. It gave me more than enough opportunity to completely vent. "So, this is what it boils down to, Jase? You never trusted us enough to begin with. And I want to blame your upbringing for this, I want to blame the fact that your dad was a useless son-of-a-bitch for making you a cold, untrusting bastard but I just can't. You knew better, Jase. You knew that not everyone in the world was going to try to screw you over all the time and that there was some justice left in the world. You didn't even try. So you've got no good reason for doing this, Jase. You've got nothing. You know your mother would just die if she found out what you were doing. Are you trying to finish her off?"

"Shut up! Shut the hell up! You don't understand what you're talking about with your picture perfect life. We had to move so many times and had no phone, and no internet or anything while I tried to continue going to school so I could make something of myself. She had to work so hard just for us to get by. Don't you dare even think you can understand the level of shit my mother and I have had to go through over the years! Don't pretend to understand the corner I was backed into when she just suddenly fell ill and I had to somehow find the money to keep her alive! Don't you dare judge me!"

"Then bring her to us now. Get yourself out of this and bring her back to Happy Harbour so my parents can take care of her."

"No way. I'm in too deep already. And I can support her like this."

"But you're doing it so dishonourably!"

"Shut up. I'm helping her with my own two hands."

"Then you're condemned to everything that you get and you're condemning your poor mother as well."

"You don't understand anything! How am I supposed to get out of something like this now? I'm one of them. I want out, they kill me. For once in my life, I'm important. It's not like you and your little superhero fantasy." He was silent for a long moment and I wondered if he was crying or pained or sad or even slightly contrite about what he was doing and which side he was choosing. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter and I could hear the pain in it. "You grew up so pretty, Hy. I knew you would but being away for three years, I was so surprised at seeing exactly how beautiful you are." There was another long pause. "Don't worry about your identity, Hy. I won't tell them who you are."

"I can't promise the same."

"I know that. You'll always do what you think is right. I won't stop you. I guess it just proves you're still the girl I love." Something stirred in me, something that was a cross being warmth and discomfort. He was quiet for a long time again. "I'm sorry things have to be like this, Hy. I want to be there for you again. I miss you. Can't you forgive me, wash this under the bridge and forget about it? Can't you relinquish your little hero act so we can be friends again?"

The picture was becoming clearer. Everything about our relationship was dead, dead, dead. Every word he said just reinforced that.

"No, Jase. I can't do that. The sin is just too great."

"I'll keep my promise about your identity. I won't give up, Hy, and I won't go easy just because it's you. We've got a job to do and I'll do it." I didn't reply. "Goodbye, Hy. Brace yourself." He ended the call and I just stared at the phone for a long moment. Robin took it from me, closed it and placed it on the bedside table close to him. His arms came around me tightly. He just held me to him for several minutes and I leaned into him, holding him just as tightly and taking in his scent as I tried not to get lost and drown in my deep, nervous and unhappy anxiety.

But my world wasn't falling apart. I wasn't struck with grief. I hadn't lost anything. Long ago, I had let that relationship go. More recently had I fully decided to cut that string that still connected us. Because the person who mattered to me now, who really mattered, who had really been there for me, was there for me, who actually cared, was right beside me and holding me as I fully assimilated what had happened, what I had chosen and what was going on and would happen thereafter.

Robin had probably sensed when it was okay for him to speak.

"That was Jason." It wasn't a question. He already knew. I knew that he already knew everything.

"Yes."

"He betrayed you."

"Yes."

"He's staying with them."

"Yes."

"And after all this time, he's come back for what he left."

"Yes."

"But you've already decided to let him go."

"...Yes."

He squeezed me a little tighter and I wanted for him to not let me go.

"Hy?"

"Hm?"

"I'm here." It was so simple, so obvious but so deep, so meaningful and it made all of the difference. He was asserting the difference between himself and Jason. He was promising me.

"I know. That makes the world of difference."

We remained in silence for a long time and I just let him hold me. I needed it and he seemed to want it. All I knew was that when he held me close to him, when we were alone in each other's embrace, I felt safe and secure, no matter what was just beyond, waiting at the door.

"Robin."

"Hm?"

"No shoes on the bed."

"Oh, sorry." He released me and I pulled back. He angled himself slightly sideways to pull off his shoe.

"Ow!" It was so sudden I almost jumped.

"What?"

He leaned towards me, reached towards his backside and produced a needle still connected to the handkerchief by the thread.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, laughing. As a reflex, I rubbed the area where had he been stabbed and only after my hand was back on my lap did I realise what I just did. "Oh, crap, I just sexually harassed you. I'm sorry!"

He laughed an extremely entertained laugh. "We're dating so I guess it's okay."

"It is not okay. I could be labelled as a harasser. It was a reflex, I swear. Not to sexually harass you but you got injured and it was my fault, so I rubbed at the spot and I didn't even realise it was your butt and I swear it was an accident." He just continued to laugh, took my hand, leaned forward and kissed me. "Wow, I should sexually harass you more often if this is how you deal with that."

He snickered. "I was just trying to stop you from rambling. It's really okay. You did not sexually harass me. I know you meant well." I pulled off his shoes for him and threw them off of the bed. "So, is no shoes on the bed your only rule?"

"No, but I know that you're such a good person that it's the only rule I have to say out loud."

"You really do trust me a lot, don't you?"

"More than I think is safe."

He paused. "Care to explain that one?"

I shifted on the bed and went to sit with my back against the headboard. "It's never quite safe to trust someone completely. Even if you feel as if they'll never hurt you and they say that they never will, sometimes things happen that are, well, not out of their control, but difficult to avoid, if you know what I mean. So if you trust that everything will be all fine and dandy forever and that things will always run smoothly, when something goes awry or something unexpected happens, your world gets crushed."

He rested an elbow on his knee and leaned on his hand. "Are you usually this pessimistic?"

I shrugged. "Not too sure. I would say I just take things in stride and try not to expect too much from the world."

"That's pessimism."

I gave another shrug. "So be it."

He moved again, coming to sit next to me and my head rested on his shoulder when he took my hand. Our relationship was not the clingy lovey-dovey type in general but this was one of those exceptional moments when we were completely alone and free to let go of 'normal' and just be 'honest'. I needed to not be alone at the moment and he wanted to be my consolation. "So, what in your mind is one of those difficult though not unavoidable yet hurtful things that you think could happen with us?"

I didn't need to think about it. The thought blossomed in my head as soon as the question was out. "I might have to share you."

"Share me how?"

"As in, if whoever you are behind the sunglasses gets asked to prom with someone who likes you and you feel like it would be un-gentlemanly to reject them, you'll end up being some girl's date. She'd probably be someone who's half way in love with you and, worst case scenario, she might get caught up in the moment and kiss you. Then a whole fiasco starts and you'd probably want to avoid telling me, or maybe you would—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You've given this some serious thought, haven't you? You're already afraid that our relationship is faulty?"

"No. To both questions, the answer is no."

"You have to explain that one to me, too." He chuckled. "And I thought _I_ had a tendency to tie people up with what_ I_ said."

"It's your fault for choosing me."

He let go of my hand suddenly and I took my head off his shoulder to look at him. He shook his head at me with a tight smile. He opened an arm to me and beckoned to me with the other hand. "Come 'ere." I looked at him for a second before doing as he said, sitting sideways on his lap. His arms coiled around me. "No, I don't think there's any fault in it at all." I studied him for a long moment. He couldn't possibly understand how my heart was feeling just hearing him say that. My arms laced themselves around his back and I rested my head on his shoulder again.

"I want to tell you something."

He waited. "Anything," he said after a long moment.

"I can't tell you now."

He took another moment to swallow my answer. "I'll wait till you're ready to tell me then. Instead, I want you to explain what I wanted you to explain."

"Well...the thought about you having to go out with another girl came to me very suddenly. But, I don't think our relationship is faulty. I knew that the thing about your identity is a bit of a sketchy situation but I believe, if things are right, the problem will resolve itself in a tactful and graceful manner."

"And after all that, you still trust me more than you think is safe?"

"Absolutely."

He leaned in and kissed my jaw.

"Do you think we're taking this too seriously for teenagers?"

"Probably. But we're a special case and it doesn't change the fact that we feel this way anyway."

We remained like that silently for a few minutes, his hand stroking my back briefly and comfortingly. I had already made up my mind to not let him go if there was anything I could do about it.

"Thanks," he said.

"For?"

"Trusting me so much. Believe me, I want to tell you everything but..."

"I know. The Bat will behead you."

"Yeah. I can ask," he offered.

"No, sweetie. That would involve him knowing and I think we already decided that telling the League and our teammates might stir a problem. We'll wait for them to figure it out."

"I suspect Bats already knows and just hasn't gotten around to talking to me about it yet."

"You've got a point there. Nothing escapes him. I wonder if he'll sit us down in a room and start with the 'I need to talk' approach."

He chuckled. "Somehow I can't really imagine that from him."

"Me either."

He gave me a little squeeze and I kissed his neck.

"Are you okay about the whole Jason thing now?"

"If it will make you stay longer, the answer is no."

"I'm not going to leave if you say yes."

"Okay, well then, the answer is kinda."

"I'm here for you." It was an invitation to talk about it which I would accept.

"He was my best friend and I feel sorta disappointed but, like I said earlier, a person who wasn't there for you can't possibly betray you. Not really. When you came along, I formally made the decision to let him go."

"Am I that great?"

"I don't want to stroke your ego too much so I'm going to say no."

He jabbed me in the ribs and I bit his ear as revenge. Neither of our attacks was effective but we were both laughing. I lifted my head off his shoulder and faced him.

"I can't believe you bit me."

"I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not."

"I know you're not. But if that leaves a mark, I'm going to let you explain it."

"We could say we were play fighting, like puppies, and I bit you."

He laughed. "Sure. That's a perfectly normal and acceptable explanation."

"I didn't bite you that hard."

"I hope not."

He smiled at me and I smiled back. It was so get easy to get lost in him.

He moved a hand to cup my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I leaned into his hand, not closing my eyes because it would be a waste of his beautiful smile.

"I heard you wouldn't let Happy carry me." He pursed his lips. "Didn't know you were the jealous type."

"Should I have let him carry you?"

"No. I thought it was sweet."

"I was so worried."

"I'm sorry."

"You're such a hero, aren't you?"

"Well, I won't apologise for that."

"Don't. It's what makes you amazing."

"Well, my best friend is one heck of a role model."

"Try not to scare me next time, okay?"

"I think if I tell you not to worry, you still will."

"How can I not? You're so important to me." I smiled at him and he started slowly coming closer to me.

He began to kiss me in that sweet, soft way that I was used to. When I thought he would end the kiss briefly, I was surprised when less than a second passed before his lips were back on mine. This kiss was less familiar and a tiny bit hungrier. I wasn't opposed to it or scared, but rather, I realised that it was the kind of kiss I wanted to give back to him. It lasted a long, divine moment. Wanting to remain close enough to him, my arms moved from around his torso and came to around his neck. His tongue touched my lower lip which was so sudden that it made me hyper aware of what was going on. I wondered if to stop him but before it was two seconds that his tongue touched my lip, he stiffened and pulled back. From where I was so close to him, I could hear the comm in his ear chirping.

"Ah, sorry," he said, voice slightly rougher than usual and breath a little shorter. He touched the comm, turned his attention away from me and started a series of brief responses with whoever was on the line. From what I could hear, it was the Bat giving him the third degree about where he was and when he would be returning, which was really just a roundabout way of telling him to get his ass back to the Batcave or wherever he was.

When the conversation between them was over, he turned back to face me and pressed a kiss to my lips. "You have to go."

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't be. It's fine and I get it."

He kissed me again. "I'm still sorry. We were in the middle of something."

I chuckled. "You should go before he calls again." He attempted to kiss my lips again but I turned so that he caught my cheek. "I mean it. You should go."

"Are you really okay now? I can make up something if you want me to stay a little longer."

I shook my head. "I'm glad you came but I'm fine. Thanks for appearing when I needed you." Reluctantly, he released me and I got up so that he could get off the bed. We walked to the window and when we both stopped, he took my hand and squeezed it before he pulled me tightly into his embrace. He let go after a while but only so that he could deeply kiss me for one last long moment.

"I'll always be here for you. Sometimes heroines need heroes, remember?" I nodded and watched him put one leg out the window. He turned back and gave me a wide smile.

"Goodnight, Robin."

"Goodnight, Hy. Sleep tight."

"You, too. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Be safe."

"No more than usual. If you dream of me, they'll be sweet." Then he jumped out the window and disappeared. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Well, you're right about that, Rob. When I dreamt of you, it was a nice dream." I started towards my computer to turn back on the music when it hit me. "Wait. I never dreamt of you. I dreamt of...Richard Grayson...only he was acting a lot like you." I tried to find a link but found none. I'd only seen Grayson on the news a few times or entertainment news and my knowledge about him was extremely limited. I shrugged. "Maybe there was something about him on the _MSN _homepage and my subconscious dug it up." Accepting that that was probably the best explanation that I could come up with, I clicked play on the keyboard, returned to the bed and to the handkerchief. Before I resumed work, I realised that I was hungry. "Ah, time to go harass my mother and eat something." Happily, I skipped out the door, calling for my mommy in a loud and sugary voice that I knew she would roll her eyes at. Her fault for being so cute. Just her luck that I was now in an extremely good mood.


	26. Chapter 26

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! Goodwill to all men (and women and children) and all that lovely fluffy jazz. Trinidad does not snow but I've heard from people who've spent Christmas away that there's nothing like a Trini Christmas. But, heh, I may be biased. Love you people!**

I walked into school and I was not disappointed by Tanya who sought me out the minute I was up the steps and in the building.

"Where were you yesterday?" she asked viciously, separating each word.

"Tanya, I'm sorry but I was unconscious."

"Wait, wait, wait. You missed school yesterday because _you were sleeping_?" Her misunderstanding clearly was not helping her anger.

"No, Tanya. I fell yesterday and hit the floor so hard that I got a concussion and was unconscious for most of yesterday." It was a safe half truth.

Her face sobered. "Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry. I thought you'd ditched me."

"Not willingly. What'd I miss?"

"Yesterday was prom meeting. It's been scheduled for August fifth."

"You're not serious."

"I'm sorry. I tried to steer them away from that date but majority ruled. It's not like you were planning anything for your birthday anyway."

"Shh. Someone might hear you." I glanced around quickly to ensure that the rest of the school was ignoring our existence as usual. "That may be true but I think prom might be one of the more unappealing ways to spend it."

"How so?"

"Well, as usual, no date. Secondly, it's more of an opportunity to be more contemptuous of those in this school that think finding the most plunging neckline, tightest material and shortest skirt are ideal for a middle school event."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop using big words. And sure, there are the sluts but—wait, what do you mean 'no date'? What about your boyfriend?"

"I doubt very much that he'll be able to come. Somehow, it doesn't seem like his thing and well, he's got obligations that may keep him away."

"You should still ask him."

"No. I refuse to bother him. Now, as a committee member, I'll help you guys plan and decorate and organise and whatever but I'm not coming."

"You can't leave me alone!"

I gave her a smug look. "You won't be alone."

She looked at me cautiously. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you already have a date."

"Who?"

"I'll tell you when the time is right. But you'll thank me later."

"Not even a hint?"

"He's liked you for a long time but you're too much of a moron to notice."

"Oh, ha ha. This coming from the girl too dumb to acknowledge when she's in love with someone."

"Hey, I acknowledged it. Eventually. Keep in mind I'm not the one who constantly gets involved with guys that are no good."

"Do I have to pull the Jason card? Whatever happened with that anyway?"

"He called. Had to cancel. He's still a deserter and some things never change. It occurred to me that his capacity for making good decisions is poor. Anyway you look at it, though, that's just once instance."

"Must you be so smug?"

"Don't worry. Your time will come someday. Well maybe it already did with my whole Robin thing."

"Glad to be of service."

"As am I."

"Still seeing you for my show tomorrow?"

"Oh, right, it's Thursday. I forgot. But yeah, for sure."

"Call me and tell me how dinner goes."

"Would you just like to come?"

"No. Of course not. I can't deprive your dad of the opportunity to grill him because there's extra company."

I laughed. "You know my dad isn't like that."

"Only because you've never brought a boy home before."

"He's been in my house several times. And Jason was always over when we were friends."

"Stop being so technical—What do you mean he's been in your house _several_ times?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. My parents know him a bit. Jani hides from him."

"Wow. Things are more serious than I thought." I smiled sheepishly. "You lucky chick!" She nudged me. I remembered last night and bit my lip unconsciously. "Oh, you're remembering something. Spill."

"I'd rather not."

"Spill or I'll prance around school telling people your birthday is prom day."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so mischievous and nosy. He was over last night."

"Ooh. For why?"

"He mystically appeared when Jason called, like he knew I needed him."

"How sweet. Then what happened?"

"Use your imagination."

"You know I'll only think the worst possible thing."

"True. We talked a little, hugged, a few kisses, then he had to leave." She squealed. "Wow, it's like I'm in this relationship for both of us."

"Hey, I've got nothing interesting going on in my life so I have to feed off of yours." I laughed. The bell rang. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm leaving at lunch to do some extra prep for tomorrow."

"Alright. Don't break anything."

"I'll try. Later."

When I saw Robin I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face. I wasn't doing a very good job of playing it cool, if that was even a good tactic to begin with.

"Hey," he said. "How'd things go after I left?"

I chuckled. "I was fine. I harassed my mom, ate something, went back to my stitching. I have a backbone apart from you, you know."

He chuckled. "I know. I'm just asking."

"Well, thank you. That's very sweet. Did the boss grill you for being MIA last night?"

"No. When I told him I was with you, he didn't ask any more questions. He seemed to gloss over it and started discussing what he called me for."

"Ah." We walked in silence for several paces. "Hey, Rob."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about our whole fight. It was so stupid."

"Forget about it. It was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing. I said some terrible things to you."

"All water under the bridge."

"I still want to make it up to you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you willing to do anything to make it up to me?"

I elbowed him and rolled my eyes. "Well, there goes 'it's nothing'. Perv. I'll do what I can to make it up to you, within reason."

"I want you to wear a nice dress tomorrow."

"Is that it?"

"And makeup."

"But it's such a hassle."

"And heels."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I want you to dress up for our date."

"Okay. What's the catch? You're going to make me do a jig in public or something?"

"No, no catch. But that is a fun idea."

"No way!"

He laughed. "Just kidding. I just keep trying to picture you in a dress and I keep coming up short. I've never seen you wear one. Not even to church."

"You've been stalking me."

"Stalking's a strong word. I'd like to think our paths coincide sometimes when I'm on patrol."

"In Happy Harbour? Don't you and Mr. DK run around in Gotham City?"

"Can't we just go with my explanation?"

"Nope. Just admit it. You've been stalking me because you're addicted."

"No. I've been watching over you because you're so accident prone."

"Either way I think it's sweet. You haven't been watching me sleep, have you?"

"Please. You're not that important. I need to sleep, too."

I elbowed him again, harder this time. "You don't mean that. You said quite the opposite last night."

"Must you remember last night so well?"

"Do you think I could forget something so nice?"

He stopped, pulled me to a stop as well by taking my face in his hands and gave me a slow kiss. Then he took my hand and we kept walking.

"What was that for?"

"You're cute. And your lips are nicest when they're not talking." I tried to elbow him but he dodged, laughing. The bike came into sight and I held him tightly as we got on our way.

When we stopped off at the Cave and he took his helmet off, I remembered something I wanted to tease him about.

"Did I leave a mark?"

"When you bit me?"

"Yeah."

"Lucky for you, no."

"Hey, you know I'd go with the excuse I made up yesterday. Technically, it isn't a lie."

"It's a half truth."

We headed through the door and into the main training area where everyone who'd been at the Cave yesterday was already assembled. "Ugh. You're so technical." I looked at the others, getting my attention away from the one person I'd prefer to give it to the most. "Hey, everybody. It's story time!"

"Story time? Robin told us you have something important to tell us about the guy who was leading the group yesterday," Happy said.

"Yes, Happy. I do. But isn't it more fun to tell a story?"

"Just get to the point."

"Don't get your balls in a knot, Happy." At this, Artemis burst into snickers and I noticed Black Canary hiding a smile. "The story is all part of the telling of the important things. It will just help you get a better idea of who you're dealing with. Can I sit down?"

"No."

"Some sucky truce we made yesterday. Anyway, so, Robin, help me with the screen here. I'm sure you can pull up his records or whatever."

"Sure," he said.

"His real name is Jason Guerreton. He was born in California sixteen years ago...wait, no, now it was seventeen years ago. His birthday is May fourteenth—"

"Hold up. _How_ do you know all of this?" Wally asked.

I gave a tight smile. "We used to be best friends. Then he moved and turned out to be a complete bit—" Robin's hand over my mouth cut off half my curse.

"Moving along with the story," he prompted, releasing my mouth.

"Okay, okay. Got it. Language in check. Yeah. So, he was born in Cali and Wonder Woman saved him this one time when he fell in a fountain as a little kid. The idiot cannot and never has been able to swim. He used to worship her. Said that someday he'd marry her. Anyway, he moved to Happy Harbour with his mother about nine years ago. His father was the useless type of man that walked out on his girlfriend when he found out she was pregnant. The hardest part was that Jase looks exactly like his dad so he has to keep looking in the mirror and looking at the face of the man he hates, that abandoned them, and she has to see it, too.

"About three years ago, he and his mother moved to North Dakota when she got an interesting job offer. We lost contact in a month's time. However, they had to move around a lot after that and things got a bit difficult. Not sure about what happened in particular, but I think the new job didn't pan out. Then his mom fell into a coma and needed a surgery so he got into the whole mob thing to help her."

"So, hold on. If you lost contact, how do you know what happened after he moved?" Artemis asked.

"He called me a few days ago. And then again last night."

"He called you?" Superman asked incredulously.

"Didn't I already say he's an idiot? He was trying to fix things with me."

"You two dated?" Supes asked.

"Oh, thank God, no. He started feeling nostalgic when he came into town so his best friend and quite possibly his only friend was the one he ran to." I handed my phone to Robin. "You can check out the number. It's the last one on the calls list and the only unlisted number before that. However, I have a feeling that those numbers won't turn up much. I call him an idiot but the bastard's a strategist. He was one of my worst rivals in _Starcraft_ back in the day. He knows how to attack and when. He's the one who hit me with a lead pipe and then floored me, possibly making him the prime cause of my concussion but only because he didn't immediately realise it was me."

"Immediately realise? Does that mean he knows now?" Batman asked.

"Trust me, an eye mask does little to conceal what has been familiar for six years. And especially since he had called me prior to the mission, he had the sound of my voice fresh in his head."

"Your identity has been compromised," he stated.

"Maybe. He said he won't spread my identity around but I can only trust what he says to a minor degree."

"You still think he won't tell?"

"If he has a shred of honour left and his emotional attachment means anything at all, I should be safe. However, if that proves to mean nothing, I'm sure my Martian beloved can rid him of such burdensome information when we catch him. There are certain lines he's not willing to cross and family is one of them. But let him try. He'll know what my bad side really looks like."

"Anything else we should know about him?" Manhunter asked.

I pondered for a moment. "If you don't find him, look for his mother in the hospital system. I believe you can use her to draw him out. But if you do, be prepared for the brunt of his wrath. No one messes with his mother. According to him, she's the only thing in this godforsaken world that's keeping him on a leash. Her name is Laila Guerreton. If you run into him, the best one to handle him might be Aquaman or Aqualad."

"Why is that?" Kal asked.

"Because I'm almost positive that he still can't swim. I'd like the opportunity to dislocate his jaw myself for giving me a concussion but I think it might be better if I never saw him again."

"Sounds like you're still very upset about it," Canary said.

"Not exactly. I just don't like traitors at all. I believe justice is absolute and it's my job to facilitate that, which is why I've told you all I can."

"Given what you've told us about his relationship with his mother, you don't believe for a second that there is any justification at all for his actions?" she asked.

"No. Not when his best friend's parents are doctors and we've never turned them away before. No, when you do something that's obviously wrong, that's all there is to it. There's always a choice."

"We'll find him. We'll make sure his case and his mother's are handled carefully."

"That's as good as it gets for him. Wish I could tell you where he was but I'm almost certain he's not where he used to live. But he'd stay close to his mother. He'd visit her often, probably sneak to see her outside of visiting hours. And if you find Aunt Laila, bring her to my parents. They'll take great care of her."

She nodded and the rest of the Leaguers started to leave the room to probably go discuss the issue in more detail.

"I kind of feel sorry for him," Wally said.

"Me, too. He was born at a disadvantage with no father and a struggling mom. Still doesn't justify. Aunt Laila would die if she knew what he was doing."

"Are you related to her?"

"No, it's just polite to refer to elders that way. I do have some manners."

"Yeah, but you curse like crazy. And cursing is not ladylike," Robin said.

"I'm not a lady. I'm a gentlewoman."

"Ha. The gentlest thing about you is your needlepoint."

"Shut up," I said, pushing him. "Shouldn't we get to some training or something?"

"So anxious to get beat up again?" he taunted.

"Your ass. I know your weakness."

"What, you gonna bite me again? Like that was effective before."

The rest of the team was watching us strangely and I realised we needed to stop. I headed to the change rooms with a laugh to suit up.

I was stretching out my sore muscles in my room having returned from rugby when my favourite visitor came through my window. I saw his face colour when he realised I was in shorts and bending completely over and I chuckled and straightened.

"You're so innocent. It's cute. I would think that an acrobat of your calibre would be used to seeing girls stretch in front of him."

"You say that but you don't see what you look like when you're stretching. I _am_ still a teenage boy susceptible to hormones."

I laughed. "What brings you to my little slice of paradise?"

He hesitated to answer. "I just wanted to see you."

"Aw. How sweet. Sit down, why don't ya?"

He took a seat on the bed and I turned left and right, stretching my back muscles. "I can't stay long."

"I still appreciate the visit."

When I was finished stretching, he patted his lap and beckoned me to him. I sat sideways obediently and his arms were around me tightly instantly.

"Your hair smells fantastic," he said, burying his face in the loosely tied ponytail. I didn't know what to say; the great Robin had rendered me speechless. It seemed okay to just sit there with our arms around each other in the silence. It was several minutes later that he spoke again. "How are you doing?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You had to talk about him today. You seemed pretty riled up."

I shrugged. "Of course I'm still pretty riled up. I've got a natural aversion to traitors because it goes directly against my sense of justice. And not only does he know he's doing the wrong thing but he tries to justify it, too. That's when you know you're really gone, when you work so hard to justify something that is clearly and undeniably wrong so that it seems like good to you."

"You shouldn't let it bother you so much. What can you really do about it?"

"I can pray about it. That's the only thing I can really do. And then the next time we cross paths, I can bring him in."

"I'll always have your back. You know that."

"Yes. Thank you for that." He kissed the base of my jaw and I sighed. "You don't have anything eating you, do you?"

"Not exactly."

"That means yes. Spill."

"I don't know—"

"Oh, come on. I just spilled my guts to you—Wait, is it related to your secret ID? In that case, you don't have to tell me."

"No, it isn't related to that. Not directly anyway."

"Then spill. Trust me a little, why don't ya."

"Okay. So there's this girl." I almost stiffened. "Relax. Let me finish." He read me so well. "She's amazing and I can't stop thinking about her. She's got this issue about this guy she was friends with and I kind of want to knock him off the face of the planet. He's been telling her that he loves her and stuff."

"I never told you that."

"But that's what he told you, isn't it?"

I sighed. "I can't imagine how you figured that one out."

He shrugged. "It's obvious. You're easy to fall for." I wanted ask if he had fallen for me but before I could ask he started talking again. "So, yeah, this girl, I can't get her out of my mind. I worry about her some and then a lot of the time, I just daydream about her. I really like her and I wish I could just tell her everything. She's the kind of girl you'd feel safe leaving your secrets with."

"Is she hot?"

"Very. And not just hot. She's cute, too."

"Hm. Sounds like you've got it bad for this girl."

"Possibly."

"I have a slight feeling that this girl feels very strongly about you, too, but that she's willing to wait as long as she has to for you to open up to her. She thinks you're a keeper."

"Does she, now?"

"Yes, she does."

"Hm." He hugged me a little tighter and I stroked his hair. "Hey, Hy?"

"Hm?" I turned to him. His lips met with mine and he kissed me in that soft, sweet way that I liked so very much.

There was a knock at my door and we jolted apart. "Crap," I whispered.

"Hy?" mom called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?"

"If you're not busy, can you come help me put some clothes to wash. I'm doing some prep for tomorrow night's special dinner." Robin grinned.

"Sure, mom. Just gimme a second."

"Sure thing, hon." Her shadow moved from under my door and I exhaled.

"I should go," he said.

"You could come help me wash clothes."

"Sure. Because your mother would love to see me mystically appear from your room. I don't care how liberal or trusting of you she is, I get the feeling she'll still be a little peeved by that."

"Only because you didn't come through the front door so she could fawn over you."

He chuckled. "I can't believe she likes me so much."

I shrugged. "What's not to like? You're cute, nice, sweet and you've got manners." He released me and I got off his lap. He stood, taking my hands and squeezing them as he kissed my forehead.

"Can't wait till tomorrow. Don't forget you have to make it up to me."

I groaned. "Strapless, sleeveless or with sleeves?"

"Ooh. Strapless, please. I'll bring my camera."

"Fine." He turned to the window and I pulled on his shirt. "Hold on."

He turned back and he kissed me deeply but pulled away far too soon. "Goodnight." He jumped through the window and I sighed after him. I rolled my eyes and headed out of my room, mentally going through all the strapless dresses I owned in my head. I supposed that, given his criteria, the sheer-sleeved black dress that I had dreamt myself wearing was out of the question.

**Right about now, I want a Robin :3**


	27. Chapter 27

**Boxing Day! Isn't this impressive? Three chapters in two days! Hurray! Okay, I'll stop feeling too good about myself now because this chapter may be bad. Depends on who reads it. Super fluffy chapter.**

I smoothed the skirt of the knee-length, candy apple red strapless dress with the black bowed sash that I had chosen and turned my head sideways as I examined my reflection in the mirror. Why on Earth was I wondering if what I was wearing would clash with what he was wearing? What was he wearing anyway? I told him semi-formal and he had indicated what he wanted me wearing but he hadn't given me an inkling about what he was planning to wear. I picked up a stole and wrapped it around my shoulders. I threw it back on the bed in the next second. I was all butterflies and ants. I took a seat on the bed.

"Breathe, Hyacinth. It's just Robin. You're just going on a date. That's it. Stop freaking out." I breathed in and out and in and out, trying to calm the nervous activity going on inside me. "Not like it's your first official date or anything...except that it is." I got up and started pacing the room. "Forget about it. He's crazy about you. It's not like what happens on this date could make him change his opinion of you. That's barely possible. Why the _hell_ am I so nervous?" Pacing in the direction towards the window, I noticed a tiny piece of paper floating into my room. I picked it up suspiciously.

I was right. It wasn't just a piece of high-flying trash.

_You're nervous because I'm_

_not used to seeing you like this._

_Calm down._

And as soon as I read it, I knew that the idiot was right. And he was peeking through my window.

"Cheater," I said.

I stuffed my phone and my lipgloss into the discreet pocket of the dress and walked out into the living room. My mother had done my makeup before I put the dress on, using gunmetal and charcoal eye shadow and a glittery pink gloss on my lips although I hadn't told her what I was wearing. In her amazing insight, she did my makeup so that it would go with anything I would be wearing. She laughed when I had told her why I was opting to wear makeup and promised to do it _extra_ special in that case. I walked into her line of sight from the couch and put my hands on my hips.

"Do you think he'll like this?" I asked her. Her eyes scrutinised me from head to foot, makeup, dress and black cage heels.

"Wow."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Well, if he doesn't like it, we might be able to safely guess that he's gay."

"Mom!"

She laughed. "Oh, I'm kidding. I think he'll like it, alright." She smirked. "Oh, he'll more than like it," she mumbled.

"Okay, too much information."

She chuckled. "It wasn't meant to be heard."

"Do you think I need to add a stole or a jacket or—" There was a knock at the door. "Damnit!"

"Calm the language and get the door."

"Do I need a jacket?"

"No. Don't leave him waiting there!"

I rushed to the door and opened it. His mouth dropped open when he saw me and he just stood there staring for several seconds.

"Oh—wow—You look—wow."

I chuckled. "Incoherent much?" He was wearing black jeans, a dark grey sweater with a round neckline that fit snugly around the base of his neck and a suit jacket over it...and he was holding two red roses and one yellow in one hand. Some girls would have scolded him for being underdressed but, on him, it was...debonair and extremely fitting, even with the shades.

"Well, I'd be more coherent if you didn't look so...wow." He seemed to remember the roses in his hand and he took a red one and held it out to me. "This is for you."

I took it and he kissed my cheek. "Thank you. Come in while I find a vase for it." He shut the door behind him and, upon seeing my mother on the couch, he went and presented her with the other red rose.

"For you, Mrs. Quinteros."

"Oh, how sweet of you. However, I won't accept it," she said.

"Why?"

"You insist on calling me by my last name and it makes me feel hurt."

"Oh. Then, will you please accept this humble token of my appreciation for having me over tonight, Aunt Harlene?"

She took it from him. "Oh, thank you, darling. It's really my pleasure. And Sheridan's."

"Where _is_ dad?" I asked her.

"Hiding in our room. Trying not to acknowledge the fact that you're having a boy over for dinner tonight. He guesses why but he's scared to ask me for sure. He doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that he's aging and you're growing up."

"Poor dad. You gave him the idea we were more than friends, didn't you?"

She chuckled. "Doesn't matter."

"Oh, you're so wicked. You're psyching him out more."

"What's a wife to do?" I shook my head at her. "Put my rose in some water, would you?" I walked over to her, took the rose and put it in the same vase as mine at the centre of the dining table.

"Should...I be worried?" Robin asked.

"No. Dad's relatively harmless."

"He thinks you're a good kid. He'll probably agree that you're a good match for her."

"Mrs.—I mean, Aunt Harlene," he leaned in and whispered, "you know?"

"Yes, darling. I knew this would happen before either of you did."

"You're okay with it?"

She snickered. "Geez, you and Hy and so alike. She asked me the same thing when I told her I knew. I'll let her tell you. For now, both of you need to get out of here before Tanya skins you both alive for being late."

I checked my watch and she was right. It was about time we were leaving. I picked up the envelope with the tickets from the dining table and walked back over to Robin. He offered me his arm and I took it.

"If only I could take a picture," my mother said. Robin dug in his pocket and produced a super-slim and extremely expensive-looking camera and handed it to her.

"If you would do me the honour," he said.

She turned it on, stood up, directed us to a good spot and took a couple of pictures. "Alright, now get outta here, you two. Tell Tanya I say hi and give me a call before you come so I can get everyone ready."

"Oh, where's January?" he asked.

"She's in her room reading. I'll get her to behave at dinner. Now go."

"Alright. Later, Aunt H."

"Bye, mom."

We started down the steps and both of us tried to break the silence at the same time.

"I didn't mention it but—"

"So, does your mother—"

"I'm sorry, go on," we both said. We both chucked. I stopped talking because I knew he would start again.

"You go first," he said.

"Alright. I didn't mention it earlier, but you look great yourself."

"Thanks."

"Have I successfully made it up to you?"

"More than. I mean I knew you were beautiful but wow. You're stunning." I looked away, knowing that there would be a faint blush to my naturally tanned cheeks.

"Didn't you already see me when you dropped that note into my room?"

"No. I wasn't peeping. I just dropped the note as I passed by."

"Oh. Okay. What were you going to ask me?"

"What did your mom say when you asked her if she approved?"

"She said yes."

"Really?"

"I asked that, too. She really likes you. Didn't I tell you that already?"

"Yeah, but liking me as your friend and liking me as your boyfriend are two different kinds of like. For example, I think your dad will cease to like me when he finds out we're together."

I scoffed. "Will you stop it? My dad isn't such a stiff, you know. I doubt he'll try to eat you or do the whole twenty questions bit. He just won't sit there passively either. Besides, you didn't give the idea that you were intimidated by him the first time you met him. Most people look at how tall and broad he is and get timid like mice."

"He's not a scary guy. Well, not when I met him, anyway. But I think maybe that's just the sweet sugary side he shows to his family. He seems like the kind of guy that gets scary when he's seriously concerned or pissed off."

"I've only made my dad really angry a handful of times and I'll tell you, I don't like it. He gets all serious and scary, like you guessed. But it's his deep disappointment that really gets to you."

We reached the bottom of the steps and we noticed a cab parked outside the building.

"Hey, if you're the kids going to the Pearlesque Auditorium, get in," the cabbie said. We looked at each other and he shrugged with a blank expression and opened the door for me.

"How much do we have for you?" I asked him.

"Already been settled," he answered. My eyebrows knitted. I was extremely confused.

"Sly devil," Robin mumbled, probably not for me to hear, which I did anyway.

"Who is?" I asked quietly, nudging him with my elbow. He shook his head. I deduced that either he couldn't tell me or I should have already figured it out. I wondered if it was his guardian or Batman himself. As to why Batman would have gotten us a cab for our date, I had no clue.

"So," he began, touching my knee and pulling my attention back to him, "is Tanya a good ballet dancer?" I looked down at his hand on my knee and he pulled it back. "Sorry. I wasn't trying anything."

I chuckled. "Like I wasn't trying anything when that needle stabbed you yesterday. It's cool. She's really, really good actually. Everything about her transforms when she dances. She stops being whiny and difficult and everything that she is and she becomes a professional. Like a body meant to dance. She's swift and graceful and amazing. After high school, her dance company might send her to Venice to train at their HQ, where all their world famous dancers are. Ballet dancers tend to be whiny, emotional, brats with over-stimulated senses of self-importance and I get worried sometimes that she'll get that way if she goes there among those bigwigs. I mean, she's already a difficult girl who needs constant attention but, the stars of famous ballet companies, they are far worse." I remembered the yellow rose in his hand. "Is that for her after the show?"

"Yeah."

"I hope you didn't spend anything on them and it's just that you have finely tended rosebushes in your yard." He chuckled. "I'm serious. Roses are _so_ expensive."

"I never asked what your favourite flowers were. Were roses the wrong choice?"

"Oh, no. Roses are lovely. I also like lilies, hydrangeas, carnations, camellias, hibiscus, rhododendrons and, of course, hyacinths."

He smiled. "Of course."

"I also like cherry blossoms but I doubt you'll find those around with much ease."

"Hm. So let's see what those say about you. Lilies traditionally represent chastity and friendship, but the meaning changes depend on the colours. Hydrangeas represent perseverance. Carnations can be gratitude, remembrance and even refusal, also depending on the colours and patterns. Camellias are graciousness. Hibiscus are delicate beauty. Rhododendrons are awareness." I was impressed at his knowledge of flowers. I wondered if he'd learnt that for that specific purpose: impressing girls.

"And hyacinths?"

"Sincerity."

"Hm. Not much like me, is it?"

"I think it's a lot like you. Everything you do is honest if not sincere. You're very loyal to your emotions, beliefs and thoughts so you don't give into things you don't believe in. Your heart is extremely sincere. I think it's just one of your driving principles, your fidelity to self. And, might I say, it's one of the most wonderful things about you."

His words were making me feel so warm and I wanted to turn away from him until my face cooled off but his hands floated up to my face, holding my chin so that I would keep facing him and he leaned in, meaning to kiss me.

"Here ya are," the cabbie said, interrupting us just before we could kiss. "I'll be back at eight thirty for ya."

"Thank you," Robin said, opening the door and sliding out. I expressed my thanks as well then followed him out. He offered me his hand which I took and, hand in hand, we ventured inside to take our seats.

After the show, I whispered for him to get up as soon as the applause began to die down so that we could go look for Tanya. The entire auditorium was filled, parents, relatives and friends and when they started to head for the atrium where all the performers and their invited guests would mingle, we would be quite lost in the crowd. We were holding hands throughout the show and we continued holding hands to avoid getting separated or lost...and because we just wanted to.

Tanya emerged with a few other girls but in the dress we had chosen in the boutique for her and a pair of beautiful, strappy heels. Her hair was still in the ballerina bun with the jewelled pins but she had put a jewelled comb into her hair as extra decoration. I released his hand only to run to her and hug her tightly.

"Oh, my gosh, you were amazing! I'm almost speechless. You were so great," I gushed before letting her go.

"Thanks so much. I've been practising my butt off and I've never done it as well as I did tonight." She took a second to look me up and down properly. "Oh, wow. Don't you look fancy."

"That would be thanks to me," Robin said, coming to stand next to me. He offered her the rose which she took.

"Thanks. That's so sweet of you."

"You were amazing. I really enjoyed your performance. It was mesmerising."

"Glad you enjoyed it so much." The level of noise began to escalate as the rest of the crowd filtered in. Tanya glanced at her watch. "Shouldn't you guys be leaving to go to dinner now?"

"We can stick around for a while," Robin replied.

"That's nice of you but things are going to get busy and I have to start circulating now. My mom must be looking for me. You guys enjoy dinner for me. Tell your parents I said hi."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Do I have to kick you out?" she asked with a smile.

"Alright. I got you. You want us to go have dinner. Mom says hi, by the way."

"Okay. Be safe. Nice to see you again, Robin."

"You, too, Tanya," he responded.

"Oh, and ask her about prom." I groaned, he nodded with a smirk and she smiled smugly. He offered me his hand again and I took it. He turned and just as I was about to turn to leave as well, she mouthed the words 'call me'. I waved and then turned and we started towards the exit.

The cold night air bit into my bare skin as we exited the building. The cab was parked a few feet down from the entrance.

"Hey, you said you were already paid for the night, right?" Robin asked him.

"Yeah."

"Great. My girlfriend and I decided we wanted to walk so we could spend some more time together. You can understand, right?"

The cabbie nodded with a smile. "Sure. Just be careful."

"Don't worry. We have a bit of experience when it comes to fighting off people." The cabbie gave a curious look. "We train together. Thanks again. Get home safely."

"Thanks, kid." He started the cab and drove off and my hands were on my hips when he turned back to me. He grinned guiltily.

"When did we decide to walk?" I asked him.

"Oh, come on. It'll be nice, just you and me. Please?"

"Well, I wasn't going to say no but you could have asked first."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He offered me his hand once more and I took it and we began to walk.

A breeze blew and I shuddered.

"You're cold."

"No, shit. I'm wearing a strapless dress and we just came out of a completely air conditioned building. No, honey, I'm toasty warm."

"Geez. Someone is snippy. And there I was thinking we could have a nice romantic walk together."

I chuckled. "Alright. I'm sorry. Can we start this over?"

"Sure." Another breeze blew as if on cue and I shivered. "You're cold."

"Yeah. A little. I didn't bring a jacket." He unbuttoned his jacket and held it out for me to put my arms into. He fixed my hair and put his hand back around mine. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." We walked in silence for a few paces. "You planned all of this, didn't you?"

"What if I said yes?"

"Then I'd say it was awfully sweet of you to put so much effort into our date."

"I must admit. I had a few ulterior motives."

"I'd like to hear 'em."

"Well, for one, as you know, I wanted to see what you looked like all dressed up."

"Uh, huh."

"And, I was hoping I could get you to tell me that thing you didn't tell me in your room on Wednesday."

"Has it really been eating you quite so much?"

"Uh...a little."

I chuckled. "Alright. I'll tell you. Later."

"Aw! Come on, Hy."

"After dinner, okay. We'll go to the roof top for a walk after dinner. I want to ask you a question."

"Alright."

"You said you're currently under the care of a guardian."

"Uh-hm."

I looked over at his face to see if he was closing up. He seemed to be slightly uncomfortable. "Maybe I should just drop it."

"No, go on. Ask away."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Well, you really want to know so I'll tell you. After dinner, okay?"

"Fair enough." I squeezed his hand and intertwined my fingers with his.

"Thanks for inviting me to the show. It really was great."

"Thanks for coming with me."

"Tanya said something about prom." Suddenly he stopped walking and he turned to look down into the alley.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Don't you remember here?"

It dawned on me after a few seconds. "This is where we first met."

"So you do remember."

"It's worth remembering."

"Of course it is. It's the day you met _the_ Robin of the Dynamic Duo."

"Um, no. It was the first time someone had ever jumped in and saved me when I bit off more than I could chew."

I turned to face him and he took both of my hands tightly in his, sharing his warmth and something was apparently bothering him. "Have you ever lost a fight before?"

"No, thank God. Twice, there were muggers who pulled knives in the middle of our fights but somehow, a police siren sounded from somewhere in the area and they bolted. Both times, it was nothing less than an act of God. I used to get scared, to not want to go out again, but I knew that my desire to help people outweighed my fear. And then, miraculously, when I had seriously bitten off more than I could chew, God sent me you." I put my arms around his neck and his snaked around my waist. I spent a few seconds just looking at him before I kissed him, not the soft, light kiss we were usual wrapped in, but a deeper, hungrier and more grateful kiss to express how thankful I was for him to have come into my life. Of course, my good sense should have told me that kissing a guy at the mouth of an alley was stupid and probably deplorable but, as with most things, no one would get it. It was just a kiss in a place that had changed both of our lives. Nothing deplorable about that, really. Not like I was jamming my tongue down his throat and groping him against the wall.

I broke the kiss and rested my head on his shoulder while we still held each other.

"Hey, we were talking about the prom."

I placed a kiss to his neck. "Let's drop it for now. It's still some time away and it's bound to come up again. Things have yet to be solidified."

"Alright. We should keep walking."

"Yeah." I pressed another kiss to his neck and I heard him sigh as I let go.

"I like it when you do that," he said, taking my hand as we started back walking.

"And I like it when you let me sit on your lap."

"I like that, too." He chuckled. "I'm hungry."

"Me, too."

"Can't wait to eat your mom's lasagne. She looks like she's a good cook."

"She is."

"You should dress up for dates more often."

"Only if it's with you."

"Who else would you date? Red Arrow?" He scoffed at the hilarity of the idea.

"Speaking of Red, I'm beginning to get the idea that he always act like an insufferable asshole."

"Maybe it's because you're an outsider. The first time he met Artemis, he was pretty harsh with her, too, especially since she replaced him as Green Arrow's partner. But I think he's okay with you, especially after what you did for him. I'll admit, I'm kind of jealous but, at the same time, I'm glad I wasn't the reason you got hurt."

I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it. "I'd have done it more consciously if it was you. With him, it was kind of like my body moved on its own so my teammate would be okay. If I knew you were in danger, like when you guys were cornered, I would have put myself in any position I had to just to make sure you were safe."

"I thought I was supposed to be your hero."

"Can't I be your heroine sometimes, too?"

"I don't do drugs."

I chuckled. "Great to know."

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. How were the needles in action?"

"Oh, they were great. What are my care instructions for them?"

"Just make sure to clean off any blood, mud or substances that get on them. As for the tranqs, you need to add more of the tranq agent after you use them into the microbarrel at the centre of them. You have to soak them in the stuff for the barrel of get full."

"Oh, wow. How fancy."

"The bottle's at HQ. Glad they were helpful. But I refilled them and cleaned them for you already when you were passed out."

"Thank you."

He chuckled. "Don't get used to it."

I elbowed him. "Whatever." My apartment building came into full view. The walk was almost over. "The food nears."

"Yeah. I'm amazed you managed to walk all the way here in those shoes."

"Ah, crap, stairs. Ugh!"

"Do your feet hurt?"

"A little. But I can manage it." We walked through the front door and just as we were at the base of the stairs, he picked me up like a princess and started climbing the stairs. "What are you doing?" I asked with a laugh.

"We can't have you damaging your pretty feet, now can we?"

"All of this part of your plan?"

"Absolutely."

"If my neighbours see you—"

"Then I guess you'll have some explaining to do, won't you? Would you stop worrying and let me enjoy treating you like a princess?"

"I'd rather be a queen."

"You're so difficult."

I rolled my eyes. "And we're back to me being difficult." I hugged him tightly as he ascended the stairs with me as his precious package. "Thank you for all of this. It's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me."

"I enjoy these rare moments of sweetness we have when it's just us."

"You're just a big sappy romantic underneath all the muscle and bravery and action, aren't you?"

"Shh," he said, nuzzling my lips with his. "Someone might hear you."

"We've got so much in common, it's scary. I think the only reason you're into me is because I'm you with lady parts."

He barked a laugh. "Trust me. There's more to it than that. I think I see things about you that you couldn't possibly see." Just then, we reached my apartment and he brought his lips to mine. When he pulled back, I laughed. "What?"

"Your arms must be killing you. I know I'm heavy."

"Not really. Trust me, I'm an acrobat. I've trained myself to hold all my body weight on just my arms. Carrying you is an easy and pleasant task."

"Liar." I pressed a short kiss to his lips and he put me down. I knocked at the door. "Mom." She came and opened the door, dressed a short sleeved, square necked deep purple dress.

"We're home," Robin and I said together unintentionally.

"And you forgot to call. Your sister's still dressing. Come help me move the plates and the salad, Hy," she said, bustling back to the kitchen.

"I'll come help you," Robin said, following.

"Robin, dear, Hy can get it."

"Well, don't spoil him, ma. He's practically part of the family since you've decide to adopt him into your affections so we can work him a bit."

"You're such a gracious host," he said, bumping me with his hip when we entered the kitchen. I handed him the bowl of salad while I held the plates and wrapped utensils. "Maybe we should switch." I gestured with my head for him to just get out and he obeyed. When I put down the plates and the salad was on the table, he whispered in my ear, "I wasn't lying though. You're light and I like holding you." My dad came out of his room and Robin took a microstep away from me, removing his lips from my ear. I grabbed the side of his sweater to keep him from distancing himself further.

"Hi, daddy."

"Hey, Hy. You look gorgeous." His eyes focused on the jacket then flicked up to Robin. "I'm assuming that's yours."

"Yes, sir. She was cold."

Dad smirked. "Nice move. And please, call me Uncle Sheridan."

"It's nice to be having dinner with your guys, Uncle Sheridan. Hy talks about her family all the time, nonstop. If I wasn't used to the fact that she talks so much, I'd have been annoyed." I elbowed him and he elbowed back.

My dad just shook his head and chuckled. "Oh, this is going to be fun." He walked into the hallway, probably going to Jani's room.

"What does he mean by that?" Robin asked me.

"Either he's going to have fun killing you or he thinks you're interesting and dinner will be fun all on its own."

"Which is more likely?"

I snickered. "He likes you. Relax. Obviously, he means the latter and not the former."

Dad re-emerged with Jani in tow. He was wearing a sweater and jeans and she was wearing a sleeveless green cotton dress. Mom emerged from the kitchen with mittens on her hands and the lasagne in its dish which scented the air.

"Let's eat. I'm sure Robin's hungry," she said.

"Yes, but for what?" I whispered in his ear.

"Right about now, I choose lasagne," he taunted back.

I laughed as we sat at the table, dad at the head of the table with mom at his right, Robin at his left, me at Robin's left and January at mom's right.

"I want to hear the joke, too," dad said, looking cutely lost.

I sat on the short wall that kept people from the building's edge and he rested his elbows next to my leg, propping his face up with his hands. His jacket was draped against the back of the couch downstairs.

"That went differently from how I expected," he confessed.

"You actually thought he was going to grill you with questions like 'what are your intentions with my daughter', 'why are you dating her' and 'are you sexually active and if not, when do you plan to start'?"

He barked a laugh, probably surprised by my choice of example questions. "Well, not those exact ones but something like them. Instead he was pretty cool, even when I asked him and your mom if I could date you. I thought he'd at least give me conditions instead of just smiling and telling me he thinks I'd make a good first boyfriend for you. Poor January, though. Did you see how hard her fork hit the plate when I asked him?"

"Yeah. She's slightly in awe that any of this is happening and she still has a bit of a crush on you. Were you expecting the threat he gave you though?"

"Actually, it didn't feel like a threat. But I suppose he _could_ remove my heart if he wanted to. Good thing I don't intend on breaking yours. Your family's really great, Hy. Makes me feel kind of warm that they consider me one of their own. And kind of sad."

"Sad?"

"I promised to tell you what you wanted to know after dinner. What did you want to know?"

I paused for a long moment, just looking at him as he looked out into the night. He was gorgeous and I was about to make him uncomfortable again. Wondering at my long pause, he turned his head to me. "Come stand in front of me."

He straightened and came before me, putting his hands on my knees on either side of him. I took his hands with my own. "Your question?"

"I...wanted to know..." I leaned in and kissed his forehead. "What happened to your parents?"

He held my hands tightly and exhaled. "They died."

I put my arms around him and held him tightly to me and his arms came around my hips. "I'm so sorry."

"It happened when I was eight."

"Oh, my gosh."

"They were murdered." I didn't know what to say. I just tightened my hold on him.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. I'm glad I could tell someone. Someone who cares. Someone I know will keep my secret. Someone to know my pain." I held him silently for several minutes. I hadn't guessed that he had been carrying such a painful burden beneath his smile and his laughter and his courage. He just held me in silence as well and I wondered if he was trying to make himself alright inside again in the silence. I felt terrible for having dredged up his pain by making him tell me. "I'm so glad you're here for me." Just like him, reading my mind. My guilt cooled.

"It's my turn to tell you what you wanted to know," I said after a couple more minutes.

He released me and I leaned away from him to meet his eyes. His hands came back to rest on my hips after my eyes came to his. I looked at him for several seconds, trying to figure out how to put what I was about to put. I couldn't take it back after I said it and I had to say it properly so that it had the right impact and gained the right reception.

Then again, the reception had little to do with how it was said and more to do with how he felt about what I said. On top of that, I was about to break one of those rules that seemed to just exist in the dating world. One that I did not think applied to us because we tried to be unconditionally honest with one another, but one that could have because, under everything, he was just a normal guy and I was just an average girl, one of many he would encounter and, no doubt, form relationships with during the course of his life.

He chuckled. "You're thinking awfully hard there. You were here with me a moment ago and then you flew off somewhere else."

"I'm...trying to figure out if and how I should tell you."

"You promised you would."

"And I don't like to renege on my promises. I just don't know how you'll react and how to put it just right."

"Oh, crap, you're breaking up with me, aren't you?"

I slapped the back of his head lightly. "No, idiot. Why would you think that?"

"Oh. Well then, just say it. Don't worry about 'putting it right', as you say. Just be honest and that, for me, will be the right way." I shook my head, exhaled and smiled. "So, have you decided to just tell me?" A breeze blew my hair back and a few strands fell into my face. His fingers came up and brushed them behind my ear. "Hy, you're killin' me here."

I shifted my eyes away from his and stared over his head into space. "You've walked on a mountain or a steep incline before, right?"

"Yes, but I don't know where you're going with this."

"You know when you're walking on a mountain or a steep incline like a driveway of some mansion or something, and you start walking downhill and you think you're the one propelling yourself to walk downhill when you start walking but then, after a while, you realise gravity's pulling you down and you're barely in control of your feet anymore?"

He was badly fighting a confused and slightly amused smile. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"It was Tanya who brought this to my attention first."

"The force of gravity on a hill?"

"No." He kind of looked like he wanted to laugh one of those entertained but deeply confused laughs and was just barely keeping it in.

"So are you going to tell me what gravity and your conversation with Tanya have to do with each other?"

"I'm going to be fifteen next month."

"I thought you were already fifteen."

I shrugged. "I tend to round up."

He shook his head, still smiling. "I'm very confused as to what you're talking about."

"I know. But I promise there's a point."

"I believe you."

I took another few seconds to gather my thoughts in a way that would connect what I had said. "I'm...on a hill...walking down...or rather—"

"Being pulled down?"

"Yes. And all I can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other so that I don't fall flat on my face and tumble. That would be embarrassing. And ungraceful."

He chuckled. "Well, you are a bit accident prone."

"That's very true." I brought my eyes back to his face. "But, anyway, my whole point is that I'm very rapidly going downhill and you're the one pulling me downhill. But it's not like being pulled downhill. The hill's really steep; every time I'm around you I can feel the hill getting steeper and steeper, so it feels more like..."

"Falling?"

"Yes, exactly. Like falling." I couldn't see his eyes but his face was set in a way as to tell me to say it clearly, without all the allusions. Of course he already knew what I was trying to tell him. "You're making me fall for you and I should be too young for this but, instead, I'm okay with it because you seem to be doing all the right things. You're always there when I need you and you always come to help me, even if I don't call you. You're almost the perfect best friend. You're not afraid to call me out when I'm doing something stupid and you've found something about me that makes you want to keep me around and it makes me feel pretty great."

His arms started to tighten around me. "So," I continued, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm really happy we're best friends and that I'm falling in love with you." He barely waited for me to finish my sentence before putting his hand behind my neck and capturing my mouth with his in a kiss that was sweet and wonderful in its strange, more passionate manner. He was holding me flat against him, arm tightly wound around my waist, pressing my back close to him and his other hand moving up the back of my neck and burying itself in my hair. My arms tightened around his neck, a hand going to get lost in his hair, trying my hardest to be as close to him as I could and wanting, wanting so very much just to get tangled up and lost in his kiss which wasn't a rejection.

No, it was more like the opposite of rejection. It wasn't reciprocation but it was acceptance, which was quite enough for me at the moment. He was okay with the idea that I was falling for him. I was so happy that all I wanted to do was keep kissing him. I broke only to tilt my head the other way before returning my lips firmly back to his.

He broke the kiss first this time, long after we started, probably more aware that people need oxygen to live than I was willing to be. "Keep your eyes closed," he said between breaths. I obeyed, resting my forehead against his while we restored our breathing to normal. The hand in my hair left where it was and after a short moment, I felt his fingers combing through the hair behind my ear before resting right there. He kissed me once again though much shorter.

"You can open your eyes now," he whispered against my lips.

Slowly I began to open them and looking back at me was a mesmerising and enchanting pair of icy blue eyes that reminded me of a dream I'd had. I kept my eyes stuck there. I wouldn't look at his face. I would just look at his eyes. If my brain clicked the pieces together on its own afterwards, so be it. I wouldn't try to figure out his identity until he was in a ready position to let me know everything.

"I knew it," I said.

"Knew what? Who I was?"

I took his shades from atop his head and placed them back over his eyes. "I knew that your eyes would be as beautiful as you are."

He chuckled. I released my grasp on him, sat straight and ran a hand through my hair. "You're the first to see them out of the entire team. Not even Wally knows what colour they are." I smiled. "Hy."

"Hm?"

"Just keep falling for me, okay? I'm glad you told me."

"You mean you're not going to run off and start avoiding me, like they say guys will do if you tell them things like that?" I teased.

"You know some of my secrets. It's safer to keep you with me," he teased back.

"Is that the only reason you want me around?"

"No. You're also extremely sexy in a strapless dress."

"Any other reason?"

"I'd be an idiot to let other guys date you."

"So, you're just keeping me to yourself so other guys can't have me?"

He grinned."Pretty much." I rolled my eyes and got off the wall. He held me around the waist as soon as I was standing, kissed me and then just held me in his embrace. I hugged him back, so happy he was here, in my life, in my arms, in my world and that I, too, was granted those privileges of being in his. "Hyacinth," he said my name so softly in my ear.

"Yes, Robin?" I answered just as softly, so as not to break any magic of the moment.

"You're so important to me. You'll never understand how important you are, but I don't want you to ever doubt your importance. I'll be your anything or even your everything if you need it. Rely on me and keep on falling."

"I don't think I could stop, even if I tried. You're too majestic a person." He kissed my cheek and I kissed his neck. "Do you think we overdid our quota of mushiness for the day?"

"Totally. We've got to act extra cool tomorrow around each other. Especially since the entire team's gonna be at dinner."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. I hope Meg and Conner rescheduled their date." I paused. "I remember when I thought they were lucky that they had each other."

"And now you've got me. They should be jealous of us but they don't know."

I laughed. "They mightn't care about anybody's relationship outside of theirs. Not that I can blame them." We released each other and he took my hand.

"Time to go back downstairs before your dad comes and finds us making out again."

I chuckled. "True. It's getting pretty late. We should send you back to your guardian."

We started walking down. "I'd love to see the look on your face when you meet him."

I turned to look at him as we walked. "Okay, now I'm worried about who I've been kissing." He laughed, kissed my hand and pulled me along faster.


	28. Chapter 28

**HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS! I love you guys so much and I thank each and every one of you for making this journey with me. To ring in the New Year (which I am totally feeling ambivalent about), I present you with the FINAL chapter of 'Sometimes Heroines Need Heroes'. I am apologise; the last chapter should have been better than this but after chapter 27, I was not sure where to end it off but I knew I had to give it to you on New Year's Eve. **

**Special shoutout to _Ansa88, RoseGlass, alyuchiya913, Raylita_ and all those who've had a consistent correspondence with throughout the course of writing this. If I forgot anyone, please forgive me but I thank each and every one of you who have read and reviewed for your love and support. And now for the lack-lustre chapter. I apologise but please don't hate me.**

"I'll do it quickly. One quick push and the pain will be over," Robin promised. He kissed my cheek. I just looked at him, his face so close to mine, here with me at this moment.

"I'm glad it's you. Okay."

"Just keep your eyes on me, okay? One push and it'll break the skin and that's it. Smooth sailing after that."

"My parents are doctors, babe. Particularly, my mom is a nurse. I know how this works." He placed another kiss to my cheek. I squeezed my eyes closed, preferring not to look. There was a sharp pain that lasted briefly a few seconds before dissipating. I could feel the foreign object embedded there and I kept my eyes firmly shut until I could feel it sliding out again.

"There," he said, assuring me. He laughed quietly. "You can stop being a baby and open your eyes now." I opened my eyes and he waved the syringe of my blood in front of my face. He kissed my cheek once more before marching over to the table to put down the needle and get a cotton ball soaked with antiseptic. He wiped it over the spot in my arm where he'd taken the blood from.

"Forget the plaster. It will heal naturally. It's just a dot anyway."

"Was that so bad?"

"No. But I haven't had injections in years. Didn't know how much it would hurt."

"You're not afraid of needles, are you?"

I scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You're sticking a needle into my vein and I just don't like pain."

There were no footsteps to alert me to Batman's incoming presence, just the dark mass that was him and his costume. He went to the table and picked up the syringe. "If you're trying to keep it a secret, you should at least avoid your shows of affection here." My eyebrows knit together for a second before I realised he was talking about Robin kissing my cheek. I wondered how long he'd been waiting and just how much he had seen. As soon as I had walked it, he had asked for a blood sample to make sure I was doing better today and told Robin to take me to the infirmary to take it. Had he been standing outside the door this whole time? "No, I haven't been standing outside the door."

If he didn't already scare me, that did. "I thought only Martians read people's minds," I commented.

"I don't have to read your mind. Everything you think is written all over your face," he said flatly.

I chuckled and when I turned back to Robin, he was smiling. "It's true," he acceded. I hit him; he hit me back.

"That's much better," Batman said. I laughed, knowing that he was talking about the banter and play fighting being much less conspicuous than the kisses.

"Ah, thank you," I replied.

"Are you ready for the rest of your physical?"

"My mother already gave me one. And then my dad. I think you just need to do the blood work and I'm mostly sure that that's unnecessary. I'm doing great. Sharp and clear and everything."

"I'll be the judge of that." He finished labelling the blood sample, put it in his belt and walked out of the room. I just sat there, feet swinging off the examination table, trying to figure out whether or not Batman had just given his approval or not.

Coming up with nothing, I decided to ask. "Do you know if he approves or not?"

"He hasn't broached the subject yet but we can gather he seems to be okay with it. If he was really opposed to it, I think he would have stopped it before it got this far. He would have warned me not to get involved while we were still just friends."

"Ah."

"Come on. Let's get back to the others for a little training." He put his hands on my hips and pulled me off the table and straight against him, almost like he was daring someone to walk in on us.

"Love to live dangerously, don't you?"

He laughed. "It's all I live for."

"And me."

"You're a danger all on your own so that's a given." I leaned in as if to kiss him and just a hairsbreadth away, I pushed him back and started walking out. "Meanie."

"Shut it, sidekick." He caught up to me and we walked out to the others. Megan and Conner were missing and Artemis and Wally were sparring with Kaldur. "Where's—"

"Movies," Artemis and Wally answered, cutting me off. I face-palmed myself, wondering how I could forget.

"Duh, Hyacinth. Date. Right. You guys still coming to dinner, right?"

"I wouldn't miss finally meeting my in-laws," Wally said, giving me his attention. Kaldur's foot sent him flying before he hit the ground and I laughed.

"You're assuming she's single, Kid Stupid. You know, I never asked you that," Artemis remarked to him and then me. I smiled.

"Of course she's single," Wally responded. "I didn't ask her out yet."

"Sorry, Wally. I have reason to believe she's not single," Robin offered with a smirk only we would be able to interpret.

"Aw, man. What kind of reason?"

"Like, I happened to see her going out with this guy a few times." I elbowed him, he elbowed me back. I had to try my best to stifle a laugh.

"Ooh," said Artemis. "See, Wally? Her taste is more complex than you are."

I laughed. "Poor Wally," I said.

"Yeah. Kaldur kicked me. Will you kiss my booboo and make it all better?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Wally. I encourage Artemis to slap the spot."

"Is that a request?" she asked.

"Thanks a lot but no. You're coming, right? You, too, Kal?"

"Yeah, I'm coming," Artemis said.

"As am I," Kal replied. "I've been meaning to ask. Are you feeling alright now?"

"Yes, thanks. I'm great. Bats is doing some blood work to make sure the toxin had no remnant effects on my body chemistry. But I feel as good as new."

Conner and Meg came through the door holding hands. I had to fight down the urge to ask Meg for details. I could probably guess what happened. They'd probably only seen like half the movie.

"Time to hit the showers and get dressed," Kal said.

I stood outside my apartment, knocked on the door and called for my mom with my teammates standing behind me, dressed as usual. January came and opened the door. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

"Oh, God," she exclaimed. Mom called her out for calling God without a reason. She turned, walking back inside and allowing everyone to filter in. Food was already on the table this time since my mom had had some warning this time. Two extra chairs were added so that my mom and I could join them.

"Oh, come on, January. Be nice," I said.

"Sure, sure. I'm just afraid what kind of news you'll give me this time while I'm in the middle of eating."

"Then I'll tell you up front." I gestured at each of them as they were introduced. "This is Conner, Megan, Artemis, Wally and Kaldur. Meg is unofficially married to me because she cooks like a boss. Guys, this is my little sister, January. If you want her, I can put her in a bag and you can take her home with you when you're going." She rolled her eyes.

"You can't give away my baby, Hy," mom said, emerging from the kitchen. I grinned and she went to hug everyone as I introduced them again. I pretended not to notice the extra tight squeeze she gave to Robin.

"Uh, you forgot Robin twice," Conner said.

January and mom glanced at each other and smiled. "We've met before," they said together. I had to try my hardest to stifle a laugh.

"Met before? When?" Wally asked.

"We're best friends and she's new to the team, Wally. Bats had me doing a little checking up."

"Um, Artemis, did you just say you're hungry?" I cut in.

My mother laughed. "Of course. Take a seat at the table while Hy gets the utensils from the kitchen."

"Where's dad?" I asked.

"Hospital. Emergency call. Three pregnant women came in and all of them need Caesareans. I'll have January take a picture for him."

"Busy night," Wally commented. "How do I look at the head of the table?"

The look on January's face was practically telling me that she wanted to ask if that wasn't Robin's place. She retreated into the hall and didn't come back after seconds.

"Jani's not joining us?" I heard Robin ask from the kitchen.

"She says she's had her share of dinners for the week," mom replied, hiding a smug smile. I chuckled. "True. The only friend I haven't had to dinner this week is Tanya since you guys are all here."

My mother sighed. "You and your narrow social circle."

"Not really my fault. People tend not to get too close to me because I always call them out when they're doing something wrong. I damn well don't encourage slack behaviour and it irritates people when I discourage them from skipping class and I don't lie when teachers ask me if I saw them or whatever. So I keep my social circle small to prevent both them and me from getting annoyed. I can't get in trouble for fighting in school again." I placed the utensils next to each person and sat.

"You've got a bad rap from fighting in school?" Wally asked.

"Not exactly but I've gotten in a few scuffles."

"Hard to imagine. You seem so...straight-laced," Conner commented.

I chuckled. "I don't know why. You've seen me fight." The stuffed chicken breast, mashed potatoes and veggies steamed with butter was filling each plate and the room with a delicious and amazing aroma. "Alright. Enough about me. Let's eat."

It was such a warm setting. It felt like a big family reunion. Since the team were practically members of my family, that was kind of what it was. There was natural banter around the table and they were all conversing with and around my mother as if it was perfectly normal. I had expected Artemis and Wally to wear shades like Robin but they'd surprised me by coming out barefaced. The only excuse I could think of was that they were consoled by the fact that they lived elsewhere, that she didn't know their full names and that the chances of her getting caught in the middle of anything dangerous were yet slim.

It wasn't five minutes after everyone's plate was clean before mom asked if there was space for dessert, which was ice-cream. Just as she'd finished her sentence, all our ear pieces began transmitting a message from The Bat.

"Batman to team. We've got a situation for you to handle. Return to The Cave immediately. We think Cheshire and the team from the warehouse are involved."

"Roger that. We'll be there in ten. Aqualad out," Kal said for all of us.

Wally sighed. "Well, it was nice while it lasted. Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Q."

"Please. Call me Aunt Harlene. Formality adds age."

"Hold on. Picture," I reminded them. I ran to January's room and managed to pull her out for a picture of my team and my mom.

"Off so soon?" she asked.

"Yup. Team commitment," I answered, ruffling her hair.

"'Kay. Enjoy. Be safe," she said before returning to her room.

"Fear not," I told them. "She doesn't know what the team really does. Doesn't care enough to want to find out."

"We should go," Conner said. "Thank you for having us, Aunt Harlene." She passed around and gave her guests hugs and kisses before I held the door open for them.

Back at the Cave, Red Tornado, Red Arrow, Batman and Black Canary were waiting for us. We got suited quickly and then came out to be briefed.

"Sorry to interrupt your dinner," Canary said.

"Business is business," Kal said dismissively. "We know what our job is."

"So what's the sitch?" I asked.

"Seems that your boyfriend's back in action," Happy said.

"Aw. Don't be jealous, Happy," I replied, winking and puckering my lips at him. "I still love ya like _Lady Gaga_ loves being mundane." He scoffed.

As Batman gave the briefing, I couldn't help but become more and more excited. I was back in my element with my great team and my best friend who I knew would have my back. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"You ready?" Robin asked as we walked towards the Bioship.

"Extremely. Excited to boot."

"Jason's probably going to be there."

"Doesn't matter. Our side always wins."

"That's the spirit."

"Of course. I always had it." And now that I had a whole team helping me to grow, I knew I'd keep it.

My only regret: Tanya was going to kill me when she finally got to find out about any of this.

**So, we've reached the end, my darlings. I was wondering at the viability of a sequel. What do you think? Would you like a sequel? I have lots of ideas floating around in my head that I couldn't put into this one. Tell me what you think. Thanks again. Have a Happy New Year and may God bless you.**


	29. Preview

**Just a notice to all that my sequel to this story is out (if you've already started reading it, you can ignore this message). It's called 'Sometimes Wearing The Mask Is Easier'. You can look for it on my page. Here's a sneak peak of the first chapter.**

It was one of those scenarios where you knew when you'd arrived at home but you weren't sure how you were able to put one foot in front of the other to get there. Because, while you knew you had to get home, your mind was occupied, completely taken with the task of trying to keep your insides from shattering and falling apart. And trying to find some way to return to the way you were before everything went wrong. More than that, trying to find the point before anything that was a prelude to the situation which then went wrong.

I wasn't sure why it was even happening. Everything was fine. At least I thought everything had been fine. Clearly, it had not been.

Occupying my thoughts as well was the whole scene which was relentlessly playing over and over in my mind. I didn't know if my mind was looking for a sign in the whole thing or if there was something I could have said to change how things went.

After training, I'd done what I usually did. I went to the showers and got changed, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to have Robin take me home as he always did. Perhaps it was because of the promise he'd made to my mom to watch my back or for personal reasons, but he faithfully accompanied me on the way home every night that we had training or missions. Robin had texted me to tell him to meet him in the basement of The Cave, which was really an area in the lowest part of the whole complex which housed the Cave's generator and a lake of sorts which occupied about half of the chamber. I pegged it as him being mischievous. We avoided too much kissing, hugging and seemingly affectionate demeanour while we were there. We had decided to keep our relationship a secret until it got out on its own some way.

When I entered, he had his back to me. I came up behind him and gave his waist a tight squeeze. When I let go, he turned and took both my hands in his. His expression was serious. Perhaps that was when I knew he was going to tell me something I couldn't possibly like.


End file.
